PE 

1117 
.N78 
1902 


EART  °£  OAR 
fil  BOORS 


3   1822  01136  7802 


JEDI'  ED  BY 


BOOK 
H 


ICHARLES  ELIOT  NORTON! 


AN  DIEGO 


presented  to  the 
UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
SAN  DIEGO 

by 

DR.  *  MRS.  W  I  GARTH 


THE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  SAN  DIEG& 

LA  JOLLA,  CALIFORNIA 

PE  1117  N78  1902 


3  1822  01136  7802 


THE 

HEART   OF   OAK  BOOKS 

EDITED  BY 

CHARLES   ELIOT   NORTON 


Seconb  Boofc 

FABLES   AND   NURSERY  TALES 


REVISED  EDITION 
ILLUSTRATED 


D.  C.  HEATH  &   CO.,  PUBLISHERS 
BOSTON  NEW  YORK  CHICAGO 


COPYRIGHT,  1895,  1902, 
BY  CHARLES  ELIOT  NOBTON. 

IDS 


THE  HEAET  OF  OAK  BOOKS. 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  TIIKKK  BEARS. 
TOLD  IN  PICTURES. 


THE    WOLF  AND    THE  LAMB. 


THE    WOLF   AND   THE   LAMB. 

One  hot  day,  a  Wolf  was  lapping  at  a  clear  brook 
that  ran  down  the  side  of  a  hill.  Now,  not  far 
down  the  stream,  a  stray  Lamb  was  playing  in 
the  water. 

The  Wolf  made  up  his  mind  to  eat  the  Lamb,  but 
he  did  not  wish  to  do  it  without  a  good  excuse.  So 
he  ran  to  the  Lamb,  calling  in  a  loud  voice,  "  Fool, 
get  out  of  the  brook!  How  dare  you  muddle  the 
water  that  I  wish  to  drink?" 

"  Oh,"  said  the  Lamb  in  a  mild  tone,  "  I  do  not 
see  how  that  can  be.  You  stood  above  me  to  drink, 
and  the  water  runs  from  you  to  me,  not  from  me  to 
you" 

"  Be  that  as  it  may,"  replied  the  Wolf,  still  more 
fiercely,  "  it  was  but  a  year  ago  that  you  called  me 
many  ill  names." 

"  Oh,  sir,"  said  the  Lamb,  now  in  a  great  fright, 
"a  year  ago  I  was  not  born." 

"  Well,"  said  the  Wolf,  "  if  it  was  not  you,  it  was 
your  father,  and  that  is  all  the  same ;  but  it  is  no 
use  to  try  to  argue  me  out  of  my  supper ; "  and 
without  one  word  more,  he  fell  upon  the  poor, 
helpless  Lamb,  and  tore  her  to  bits. 


THE  HEART   OF   OAK  BOOKS. 


DAME    WIGGINS    OF    LEE,    AND    HER    SEVEN 
WONDERFUL  CATS. 

Dame  Wiggins  of  Lee 
Was  a  worthy  old  soul, 
As  e'er  threaded  a  nee- 
dle, or  wash'd  in  a  bowl ; 
She  held  mice  and  rats 
In  such  antipa-thy, 
That  seven  fine  cats 
Kept  Dame  Wiggins  of  Lee. 

The  rats  and  mice  scared 
By  this  fierce  whisker' d  crew, 
The  poor  seven  cats 
Soon  had  nothing  to  do ; 
So,  as  any  one  idle 
She  ne'er  loved  to  see, 
She  sent  them  to  school, 
Did  Dame  Wiggins  of  Lee. 

The  Master  soon  wrote 
That  they  all  of  them  knew 
How  to  read  the  word  "  milk  r 
And  to  spell  the  word  "  mew.*' 


And  they  all  washed  their  faces 
Before  they  took  tea : 
"  Were  there  ever  such  dears  1 " 
Said  Dame  Wiggins  of  Lee. 

He  had  also  thought  well 
To  comply  with  their  wish 
To  spend  all  their  play-tune 
In  learning  to  fish 
For  stitlings ;  they  sent  her 
A  present  of  three, 
Which,  fried,  were  a  feast 
For  Dame  Wiggins  of  Lee. 

But  soon  she  grew  tired 
Of  living  alone ; 
So  she  sent  for  her  cats 
From  school  to  come  home. 
Each  rowing  a  wherry, 
Returning  you  see : 
The  frolic  made  merry 
Dame  Wiggins  of  Lee. 

The  Dame  was  quite  pleas'd 
And  ran  out  to  market ; 
When  she  came  back 
They  were  mending  the  carpet. 


HEAET  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  11 

The  needle  each  handled 
As  brisk  as  a  bee ; 
"  Well  done,  my  good  cats," 
Said  Dame  Wiggins  of  Lee. 

To  give  them  a  treat, 
She  ran  out  for  some  rice ; 
When  she  came  back, 
They  were  skating  on  ice. 
"  I  shall  soon  see  one  down, 
Aye,  perhaps,  two  or  three, 
I'll  bet  half-a-crown," 
Said  Dame  Wiggins  of  Lee. 

When  spring-time  came  back 
They  had  breakfast  of  curds ; 
And  were  greatly  afraid 
Of  disturbing  the  birds. 
"  If  you  sit,  like  good  cats, 
All  the  seven  in  a  tree, 
They  will  teach  you  to  sing ! " 
Said  Dame  Wiggins  of  Lee. 

So  they  sat  in  a  tree, 
And  said  "  Beautiful !  Hark !  " 
And  they  listened  and  looked 
In  the  clouds  for  the  lark. 


12       DAME    WIGGINS  AND  HER    WONDERFUL    CATS. 

Then  sang,  by  the  fireside, 

Symphonious-ly 

A  song  without  words 

To  Dame  Wiggins  of  Lee. 

They  called  the  next  day 

On  the  tomtit  and  sparrow, 

And  wheeled  a  poor  sick  lamb 

Home  in  a  barrow. 

"  You  shall  all  have  some  sprats 

For  your  humani-ty, 

My  seven  good  cats," 

Said  Dame  Wiggins  of  Lee. 

While  she  ran  to  the  field, 
To  look  for  its  dam, 
They  were  warming  the  bed 
For  the  poor  sick  lamb : 
They  turn'd  up  the  clothes 
All  as  neat  as  could  be ; 
"  I  shall  ne'er  want  a  nurse," 
Said  Dame  Wiggins  of  Lee. 

She  wished  them  good  night, 
And  went  up  to  bed : 
When,  lo  !  in  the  morning, 
The  cats  were  all  fled. 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  13 

But  soon — what  a  fuss ! 
"  Where  can  they  all  be  ? 
Here,  pussy,  puss,  puss !  " 
Cried  Dame  Wiggins  of  Lee. 

The  Dame's  heart  was  nigh  broke, 
So  she  sat  down  to  weep, 
When  she  saw  them  come  back 
Each  riding  a  sheep  : 
She  fondled  and  patted 
Each  purring  tom-my : 
"  Ah  !  welcome,  my  dears," 
Said  Dame  Wiggins  of  Lee. 

The  Dame  was  unable 
Her  pleasure  to  smother, 
To  see  the  sick  lamb 
Jump  up  to  its  mother. 
In  spite  of  the  gout, 
And  a  pain  in  her  knee, 
She  went  dancing  about : 
Did  Dame  Wiggins  of  Lee. 

The  Farmer  soon  heard 
Where  his  sheep  went  astray, 
And  arrived  at  Dame's  door 
With  his  faithful  dog  Tray. 


14       DAME    WIGGINS  AND  HER    WONDERFUL   CATS. 

He  knocked  with  his  crook, 
And  the  stranger  to  see, 
Out  the  window  did  look 
Dame  Wiggins  of  Lee. 

For  their  kindness  he  had  them 

All  drawn  by  his  team ; 

And  gave  them  some  field-mice, 

And  raspberry-cream. 

Said  he,  "  All  my  stock 

You  shall  presently  see  ; 

For  I  honor  the  cats 

Of  Dame  Wiggins  of  Lee." 

He  sent  his  maid  out 
For  some  muffins  and  crumpets ; 
And  when  he  turn'd  round 
They  were  blowing  of  trumpets. 
Said  he,  "  I  suppose 
She's  as  deaf  as  can  be, 
Or  this  ne'er  could  be  borne 
By  Dame  Wiggins  of  Lee." 

To  show  them  his  poultry, 
He  turn'd  them  all  loose, 
When  each  nimbly  leap'd 
On  the  back  of  a  goose, 


THE  HEART   OF  OAK  LOOKS.  15 

'Which  frightened  them  so 
That  they  ran  to  the  sea, 
And  half-drown'd  the  poor  cats 
Of  Dame  Wiggins  of  Lee. 

For  the  care  of  his  lamb, 
And  their  comical  pranks, 
He  gave  them  a  ham 
And  abundance  of  thanks. 
"  I  wish  you  good-day, 
My  fine  fellows,"  said  he ; 
"  My  compliments,  pray, 
To  Dame  Wiggins  of  Lee." 

You  see  them  arrived 
At  their  Dame's  welcome  door ; 
They  show  her  their  presents, 
And  all  their  good  store. 
"  Now  come  in  to  supper, 
And  sit  down  with  me ; 
All  welcome  once  more," 
Cried  Dame  Wiggins  of  Lee. 


A  wise  son  maketh  a  glad  father 

But  a  foolish  son  is  the  heaviness  of  his  mother. 


16  LITTLE  RED  RIDING  HOOD. 


LITTLE  RED  RIDING  HOOD. 

In  a  very  pretty  village,  far  away,  there  once 
lived  a  nice  little  girl.  She  was  one  of  the  sweetest 
children  ever  seen. 

Her  mother  loved  her  very  much,  and  her  grand- 
mother said  that  she  was  the  light  of  her  eyes  and 
the  joy  of  her  heart. 

To  show  her  love  for  the  child,  this  good  old 
dame  had  made  her  a  little  red  hood,  and  after 
a  time  the  little  girl  was  known  as  Little  Red 
Riding  Hood. 

One  day  her  mother  baked  some  cakes  and  made 
some  fresh  butter.  "  Go,"  she  said  to  Little  Red 
Riding  Hood,  "  and  take  this  cake  and  a  pot  of 
butter  to  your  grandmother;  for  she  is  ill  in  bed." 

Little  Red  Riding  Hood  was  a  willing  child,  and 
liked  to  be  useful;  and,  besides,  she  loved  her 
grandmother  dearly. 

So  she  put  the  things  in  a  basket,  and  at  once  set 
out  for  the  village,  on  the  other  side  of  the  wood, 
where  her  grandmother  lived. 

Just  as  she  came  to  the  edge  of  the  wood,  Little 
Red  Riding  Hood  met  a  wolf,  who  said  to  her, "  Good 
morning,  Little  Red  Riding  Hood." 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  17 

He  would  have  liked  to  eat  her  on  the  spot;  but 
some  woodmen  were  at  work  near  by,  and  he  feared 
they  might  kill  him. 

"  Good  morning,  Master  Wolf,"  said  the  little  girl, 
who  had  no  thought  of  fear. 

"  And  where  are  you  going  ?  "  said  the  wolf. 

"I  am  going  to  my  grandmother's,"  said  Little 
Red  Riding  Hood,  "  to  take  her  a  cake  and  a  pot  of 
butter ;  for  she  is  ill." 

"  And  where  does  poor  grandmother  live  ?  "  asked 
the  wolf. 

"Down  past  the  mill,  on  the  other  side  of  the 
wood,"  said  the  child. 

"  Well,  I  think  that  I  will  go  and  see  her  too," 
said  the  wolf.  "  So  I  will  take  this  road,  and  do  you 
take  that,  and  we  shall  see  which  of  us  will  be 
there  first." 

The  wolf  knew  that  his  way  was  the  nearer, 
for  he  could  dash  through  the  trees,  and  swim  a 
pond,  and  so  by  a  very  short  cut  get  to  the  old 
dame's  door. 

The  wolf  ran  on  as  fast  as  he  could,  and  was  very 
soon  at  the  cottage.  He  knocked  at  the  door  with 
his  paw,  "  Thump !  thump  ! " 

"  Who  is  there  ?  "  cried  grandmother. 

"It  is  Little  Red  Riding   Hood.      I  have   come 


I 
18  LITTLE  EED  RIDING  HOOD. 

to  see  how  you  are,  and  to  bring  you  a  cake 
and  a  pot  of  butter,"  said  the  wolf,  as  well  as 
he  could. 

He  made  his  voice  sound  like  that  of  the  little  girl. 
"  Pull  the  bobbin,  and  the  latch  will  fly  up,"  called 
the  grandmother  from  her  bed. 

The  wolf  pulled  the  bobbin,  and  in  he  went. 
Without  a  word  he  sprang  upon  the  old  woman 
and  ate  her  up,  for  he  had  not  tasted  food  for 
three  days. 

Then  he  shut  the  door,  and  got  into  the  grand- 
mother's bed.  But  first  he  put  on  her  cap  and 
night-gown. 

He  laughed  to  think  of  the  trick  he  was  to 
play  upon  Little  Red  Riding  Hood,  who  must  soon 
be  there. 

All  this  time  Little  Red  Riding  Hood  was  on  her 
way  through  the  wood. 

She  stopped  to  listen  to  the  birds  that  sang  in  the 
trees;  and  she  picked  the  sweet  flowers  that  her 
grandmother  liked,  and  made  a  pretty  nosegay  of 
them. 

A  wasp  buzzed  about  her  head,  and  lighted  on  her 
flowers.  "  Eat  as  much  as  you  like,"  she  said  ;  "  only 
do  not  sting  me."  He  buzzed  louder,  but  soon  flew 
away. 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  19 

And  a  little  bird  came  and  pecked  at  the  cake  in 
her  basket.  "  Take  all  you  want,  pretty  bird,"  said 
Little  Red  Riding  Hood.  "  There  will  still  be  plenty 
left  for  grandmother  and  me."  "  Tweet,  tweet,"  sang 
the  bird,  and  was  soon  out  of  sight. 

And  now  she  came  upon  an  old  dame  who  was 
looking  for  cresses.  "  Let  me  fill  your  basket,"  she 
said,  and  she  gave  her  the  bread  she  had  brought  to 
eat  by  the  way. 

The  dame  rose,  and  patting  the  little  maid  on 
the  head,  said,  "  Thank  you,  Little  Red  Riding 
Hood.  If  you  should  meet  the  green  huntsman 
as  you  go,  pray  tell  him  from  me  that  there  is 
game  in  the  wind." 

Little  Red  Riding  Hood  looked  all  about  for  the 
green  huntsman.  She  had  never  seen  or  heard  of 
such  a  person  before. 

At  last  she  passed  by  a  pool  of  water,  so  green 
that  you  would  have  taken  it  for  grass.  There  she 
saw  a  huntsman,  clad  all  in  green.  He  stood  looking 
at  some  birds  that  flew  above  his  head. 

"  Good  morning,  Mr.  Huntsman,"  said  Little  Red 
Riding  Hood  ;  "  the  water-cress  woman  says  there  is 
game  in  the  wind." 

The  huntsman  nodded.  He  bent  his  ear  to  the 
ground  to  listen.  Then  he  took  an  arrow  and  put  it 


20  LITTLE  MED   RIDING   HOOD. 

in  his  bow.  "  What  can  it  mean  ? "  thought  the 
little  girl. 

Little  Red  Riding  Hood  at  last  came  to  her  grand- 
mother's cottage,  and  gave  a  little  tap  at  the  door. 
"  Who  is  there  ? "  cried  the  wolf. 

The  hoarse  voice  made  Little  Red  Riding  Hood 
say  to  herself,  "  Poor  grandmother  is  very  ill,  she 
must  have  a  bad  cold." 

"It  is  I,  your  Little  Red  Riding  Hood,"  she 
said.  "  I  have  come  to  see  how  you  are,  and  to 
bring  you  a  pot  of  butter  and  a  cake  from, 
mother." 

"  Pull  the  bobbin,  and  the  latch  will  fly  up,"  called 
the  wolf.  Little  Red  Riding  Hood  did  so,  the  door 
flew  open,  and  she  went  at  once  into  the  cottage. 

"Put  the  cake  and  butter  on  the  table,"  said  the 
wolf.  "  Then  come  and  help  me  to  rise."  He  had 
hid  his  head  under  the  bed-clothes. 

She  took  off  her  things,  and  went  to  the  bed  to  do 
as  she  had  been  told.  "  Why,  grandmother,"  she 
said,  "  what  long  arms  you  have !  " 

"  The  better  to  hug  you,  my  dear,"  said  the  wolf. 

"  And,  grandmother,  what  long  ears  you  have!  " 

"  The  better  to  hear  you,  my  dear." 

"  But,  grandmother,  what  great  eyes  you  have ! " 

"  The  better  to  see  you,  my  dear." 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  21 

"  But,  grandmother,  what  big  teeth  you  have  !  " 

"  The  better  to  eat  you  with,  my  dear,"  said  the 
wolf. 

He  was  just  going  to  spring  upon  poor  Little  Red 
Riding  Hood,  when  a  wasp  flew  into  the  room  and 
stung  him  upon  the  nose. 

The  wolf  gave  a  cry,  and  a  little  bird  outside 
sang,  "  Tweet !  tweet ! "  This  told  the  green 
huntsman  it  was  time  to  let  fly  his  arrow,  and 
the  wolf  was  killed  on  the  spot. 


WHO   HAS  SEEN   THE   WIND? 

CJiristina  G.  Rossetti. 

Who  has  seen  the  wind? 

Neither  I  nor  you: 
But  when  the  leaves  hang  trembling, 

The  wind  is  passing  thro'. 

Who  has  seen  the  wind  ? 

Neither  you  nor  I : 
But  when  the  trees  bow  down  their  heads, 

The  wind  is  passing  by. 


22 


LITTLE  EED  RIDING  HOOD. 


THE  STORY  OF  LITTLE  RED  RIDING  HOOD. 
TOLD  IN  PICTURES. 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.          23 


THE  STORY  OF  LITTLE  RED  RIDING  HOOD. 
TOLD  IN  PICTURES. 


24  THE   WIND. 

THE  WIND. 

Robert  Louis  Stevenson. 

0  wind,  that  is  so  strong  and  cold, 

0  blower,  are  you  young  or  old? 
Are  you  a  beast  of  field  and  tree, 
Or  just  a  stronger  child  than  me  ? 

0  wind,  a-blowing  all  day  long, 
0  wind,  that  sings  so  loud  a  song! 

1  saw  the  different  things  you  did, 
But  always  you  yourself  you  hid. 

I  felt  you  push,  I  heard  you  call, 
I  could  not  see  yourself  at  all  — 
0  wind,  a-blowing  all  day  long, 
0  wind,  that  sings  so  loud  a  song ! 


THE  SUN  AND  THE  NORTH  WIND. 

A  dispute  once  arose  between  the  Sun  and  the 
North  Wind  as  to  which  was  the  stronger  of  the  two. 
Suddenly  they  saw  a  traveller  coming  down  the  road, 
and  the  Sun  said : 

"  I  see  a  way  to  decide  our  dispute.  Whichever  of 
us  can  make  that  traveller  take  off  his  cloak,  shall 
prove  himself  the  stronger.  You  begin." 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  25 

The  North  Wind  began  to  blow  as  hard  as  he 
could  upon  the  traveller.  But  the  harder  he  blew, 
the  more  closely  did  the  traveller  wrap  his  cloak 
round  him,  till  at  last  the  North  Wind,  having  put 
forth  all  his  strength  in  vain,  had  to  give  up  in. 
despair. 

Then  the  Sun,  driving  away  the  clouds  that  had 
gathered,  came  out  and  shone  in  all  his  glory.  He 
darted  his  most  sultry  beams  upon  the  traveller,  who 
soon  found  it.  too  hot  to  walk  with  his  cloak  on;  he 
flung  it  off  and  ran  for  protection  to  the  nearest 
shade. 


THE   CITY   MOUSE   AND  THE   GARDEN 
MOUSE. 

Christina  G.  Rossetti. 

The  city  mouse  lives  in  a  house ;  — 
The  garden  mouse  lives  in  a  bower, 

He's  friendly  with  the  frogs  and  toads, 
And  sees  the  pretty  plants  in  flower. 

The  city  mouse  eats  bread  and  cheese ;  — 
The  garden  mouse  eats  what  he  can; 

We  will  not  grudge  him  seeds  and  stocks, 
Poor  little  timid  furry  man. 


26        THE  FIELD  MOUSE  AND   THE   TOWN  MOUSE. 

THE  FIELD  MOUSE  AND   THE   TOWN  MOUSE. 

A  Field  Mouse  had  a  friend  who  lived  in  a  house 
in  town.  Now  the  Town  Mouse  was  asked  by  the 
Field  Mouse  to  dine  with  him,  and  out  he  went  and 
sat  down  to  a  meal  of  com  and  wheat. 

"Do  you  know,  my  friend,"  said  he,  "that  you 
live  a  mere  ant's  life  out  here  ?  Why,  I  have  all 
kinds  of  things  at  home;  come,  and  enjoy  them." 

So  the  two  set  off  for  town,  and  there  the  Town 
Mouse  showed  his  beans  and  meal,  his  dates,  too, 
his  cheese  and  fruit  and  honey.  And  as  the  Field 
Mouse  ate,  drank,  and  was  merry,  he  thought  how 
rich  his  friend  was,  and  how  poor  he  was. 

But  as  they  ate,  a  man  all  at  once  opened  the 
door,  and  the  mice  were  in  such  a  fear  that  they  ran 
into  a  crack. 

Then,  when  they  would  eat  some  nice  figs,  in  came 
a  maid  to  get  a  pot  of  honey  or  a  bit  of  cheese ;  and 
when  they  saw  her,  they  hid  in  a  hole. 

Then  the  Field  Mouse  would  eat  no  more,  but  said 
to  the  Town  Mouse:  "Do  as  you  like,  my  good 
friend ;  eat  all  you  want,  have  your  fill  of  good 
things,  but  you  are  always  in  fear  of  your  life.  As 
for  me,  poor  Mouse,  who  have  only  corn  and  wheat, 
I  will  live  on  at  home,  in  no  fear  of  any  one." 


THE  HEART   OF   OAK  BOOKS.  27 

THREE   CHILDREN   SLIDING   ON   THE   ICE. 

Three  children  sliding  on  the  ice, 

Upon  a  summer's  day; 
As  it  fell  out,  they  all  fell  in, 

The  rest  they  ran  away. 

Now  had  these  children  been  at  home, 

Or  sliding  on  dry  ground, 
Ten  thousand  pounds  to  one  penny, 

They  had  not  all  been  drown' d. 

You  parents  all  that  children  have, 
And  you  that  have  got  none, 

If  you  would  keep  them  safe  abroad, 
Pray  keep  them  safe  at  home. 


THE   BELLS   OF   LONDON. 

Gay  go  up  and  gay  go  down, 

To  ring  the  bells  of  London  town. 

Bull's-eyes  and  targets, 

Say  the  bells  of  St.  Marg'ret's. 


28  THE  BELLS   OF  LONDON. 

Brickbats  and  tiles, 

Say  the  bells  of  St.  Giles'. 

Half-pence  and  farthings, 
Say  the  bells  of  St.  Martin's. 

Oranges  and  lemons, 

Say  the  bells  of  St.  Clement's. 

Pancakes  and  fritters, 

Say  the  bells  of  St.  Peter's. 

Two  sticks  and  an  apple, 

Say  the  bells  of  Whitechapel. 

i 

Old  Father  Baldpate, 

Say  the  slow  bells  of  Aldgate. 

You  owe  me  ten  shillings, 
Say  the  bells  of  St.  Helen's. 

Pokers  and  tongs, 

Say  the  bells  of  St.  John's. 

Kettles  and  pans, 

Say  the  bells  of  St.  Ann's. 

"When  will  you  pay  me? 
Say  the  bells  of  Old  Bailey. 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  29 

When  I  grow  rich, 

Say  the  bells  of  Shoreditch. 

Pray  when  will  that  be? 
Say  the  bells  of  Stepney. 

I'm  sure  I  don't  know, 
Says  the  great  bell  of  Bow. 


HERCULES  AND   THE   WAGONER. 

As  a  Wagoner  was  driving  a  heavy  cart  through  a 
miry  lane,  the  wheels  stuck  fast  in  the  clay,  and  the 
horses  could  get  no  farther. 

The  man,  without  making  the  least  effort  for  him- 
self, dropped  on  his  knees  and  began  calling  upon 
Hercules  to  come  and  help  him  out  of  his  trouble, 

"  Lazy  fellow ! "  said  Hercules,  "  get  up  and  stir 
yourself.  Urge  your  horses  stoutly,  and  put  your 
shoulder  to  the  wheel.  Heaven  helps  only  those 
who  help  themselves." 


Do  as  you  would  be  done  by. 
It  is  never  too  late  to  mend. 
Waste  not  want  not. 


30  OVER  IN  THE  MEADOW. 

OVER  IN  THE   MEADOW. 

Olive  A.  Wadsworth. 

Over  in  the  meadow, 

In  the  sand,  in  the  sun, 
Lived  an  old  mother-toad 

And  her  little  toadie  one. 
"  Wink !  "  said  the  mother ; 

"  I  wink,"  said  the  one : 
So  she  winked  and  she  blinked, 

In  the  sand,  in  the  sun. 

Over  in  the  meadow, 

Where  the  stream  runs  blue, 
Lived  an  old  mother-fish 

And  her  little  fishes  two. 
"  Swim  !  "  said  the  mother ; 

"  We  swim,"  said  the  two : 
So  they  swam  and  they  leaped, 

Where  the  stream  runs  blue. 

Over  in  the  meadow, 
In  a  hole  in  a  tree, 

Lived  a  mother-bluebird 

And  her  little  bluebirds  three. 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  31 

"  Sing !  "  said  the  mother ; 

"We  sing,"  said  the  three: 
So  they  sang  and  were  glad, 

In  the  hole  in  the  tree. 

Over  in  the  meadow, 

In  the  reeds  on  the  shore, 
Lived  a  mother-nmskrat 

And  her  little  muskrats  four. 
"  Dive  !  "  said  the  mother ; 

"  We  dive,"  said  the  four  : 
So  they  dived  and  they  burrowed, 

In  the  reeds  on  the  shore. 

Over  in  the  meadow, 

In  a  snug  beehive, 
Lived  a  mother-honeybee 

And  her  little  honeys  five. 
"  Buzz !  "  said  the  mother ; 

"  We  buzz,"  said  the  five : 
So  they  buzzed  and  they  hummed, 

In  the  snug  beehive. 

Over  in  the  meadow, 

In  a  nest  built  of  sticks, 
Lived  a  black  mother-crow 

And  her  little  crows  six. 


32  OVER   IN  THE  MEADOW. 

"  Caw  !  "  said  the  mother ; 

"  We  caw,"  said  the  six : 
So  they  cawed  and  they  called, 

In  their  nest  built  of  sticks. 

Over  in  the  meadow, 

Where  the  grass  is  so  even, 
Lived  a  gay  mother-cricket 

And  her  little  crickets  seven. 
"Chirp!"  said  the  mother; 

"  We  chirp,"  said  the  seven : 
So  they  chirped  cheery  notes, 

In  the  grass  soft  and  even. 

Over  in  the  meadow, 

By  the  old  mossy  gate, 
Lived  a  brown  mother-lizard 

And  her  little  lizards  eight. 
"  Bask !  "  said  the  mother ; 

"We  bask,"  said  the  eight: 
So  they  basked  in  the  sun, 

On  the  old  mossy  gate. 

Over  in  the  meadow, 

Where  the  clear  pools  shine, 

Lived  a  green  mother-frog 
And  her  little  froggies  nine. 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  33 

"  Croak  !  "  said  the  mother ; 

"  We  croak,"  said  the  nine : 
So  they  croaked  and  they  plashed, 

Where  the  clear  pools  shine. 

Over  in  the  meadow, 

In  a  sly  little  den, 
Lived  a  gray  mother-spider 

And  her  little  spiders  ten. 
"Spin!"  said  the  mother; 

"  We  spin,"  said  the  ten : 
So  they  spun  lace  webs, 

In  their  sly  little  den. 


THE   FOX   AND   THE    CROW. 

A  Fox  once  saw  a  Crow  fly  off  with  a  piece  of 
cheese  in  its  beak  and  light  on  a  branch  of  a  tree. 
"  Good-day,  Mistress  Crow,"  he  cried.  "  How  well 
you  are  looking  to-day !  how  glossy  your  feathers ! 
how  bright  your  eye !  Let  me  hear  but  one  song 
from  you,  that  I  may  greet  you  as  Queen  of  the 
Birds." 

The  Crow,  highly  flattered,  lifted  up  her  head 
and  began  to  caw  her  best ;  but  the  moment  she 
opened  her  mouth,  the  piece  of  cheese  fell  to  the 
ground,  only  to  be  snapped  up  by  Master  Fox. 


34  UNION  GIVES  STRENGTH. 


UNION   GIVES   STRENGTH. 

An  old  man  on  the  point  of  death  called  his 
sons  around  him.  He  ordered  a  bundle  of  sticks 
brought  in,  and  said  to  each  son  in  turn :  "  Break 
it."  Each  son  strained,  but  with  all  his  strength 
was  unable  to  break  the  bundle. 

"  Untie  the  fagots,"  said  the  father,  "  and  each 
of  you  take  a  stick."  When  they  had  done  so, 
he  called  out  to  them :  "  Now,  break,"  and  each 
stick  was  easily  broken. 


THE   HISTORY   OF   TOM   THUMB. 

In  the  days  of  King  Arthur,  Merlin,  the  famous 
enchanter,  was  once  upon  a  long  journey ;  when, 
feeling  very  weary,  he  stopped  at  the  cottage  of  an 
honest  ploughman  to  ask  for  some  food.  The 
ploughman's  wife  immediately  brought  him  some 
milk  and  some  brown  bread,  setting  it  before  him 
with  great  civility. 

Merlin  could  not  help  seeing  that,  although  every- 
thing was  very  neat  and  clean,  and  the  ploughman 
and  his  wife  did  not  seem  to  be  in  want,  yet  they 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  35 

looked  very  sad ;  so  he  asked  them  to  let  him  know 
the  cause  of  their  grief,  and  found  that  they  were 
unhappy  because  they  had  no  children.' 

"  Ah  me  !  "  said  the  forlorn  woman,  "  if  I  had  but 
a  son,  although  he  were  no  longer  than  my  hus- 
band's thumb,  I  should  be  the  happiest  woman  in 
the  world!" 

Now  Merlin  was  much  amused  at  the  thought 
of  a  boy  no  bigger  than  a  man's  thumb,  and,  as 
soon  as  he  got  home,  he  sent  for  the  queen  of  the 
fairies,  who  was  a  great  friend  of  his,  and  told  her 
of  the  night  he  spent  at  the  ploughman's  hut,  and 
of  the  strange  wish  of  the  poor  woman,  and  he 
asked  her  to  grant  her  the  tiny  child  she  so  earnestly 
wished.  The  thought  amused  the  queen,  and  she 
promised  that  his  wish  should  be  granted. 

And  so  it  turned  out  that  the  ploughman's  wife 
had  a  son,  who,  to  the  wonder  of  all  the  country 
people,  was  just  the  size  of  his  father's  thumb. 

One  day,  while  the  happy  mother  was  sitting  up 
in  bed,  smiling  on  its  pretty  face,  and  feeding  it 
out  of  the  cup  of  an  acorn,  the  queen  came  in  at 
the  window,  and  kissing  the  child,  gave  it  the 
name  of  Tom  Thumb.  She  then  told  the  other 
fairies  to  dress  her  favorite. 


36  THE  HISTORY  OF   TOM  THUMB. 

An  oak-leaf  he  had  for  his  crown, 

His  shirt,  it  was  by  spiders  spun ; 

With  doublet  wove  of  thistle-down, 

His  trousers  up  with  points  were  done; 

His  stockings  of  apple-rind,  they  tie 

With  eyelash  plucked  from,  his  mother's  eye; 

His  shoes  were  made  of  a  mouse's  skin, 

Nicely  tanned,  with  the  hair  within. 

Tom  never  grew  bigger  than  his  father's  thumb ; 
but,  as  he  grew  older,  he  became  very  cunning  and 
full  of  mischievous  tricks.  Thus,  when  he  was 
old  enough  to  play  cherry-stones  with  other  boys, 
and  had  lost  his  own,  he  used  to  creep  into  other 
boys'  bags,  fill  his  pockets,  and  come  out  again  to 
play.  But  one  day  as  he  was  getting  out  of  a  bag, 
the  owner  chanced  to  see  him. 

"Ah  ha!  my  little  Tom  Thumb,"  said  the  boy, 
"so  I  have  caught  you  at  your  tricks  at  last;  now 
I  will  pay  you  off  for  your  thieving." 

Then  drawing  the  string  around  his  neck,  he  shook 
the  bag  so  heartily  that  the  cherry-stones  bruised 
Tom's  limbs  and  body  sadly,  which  made  him  beg 
to  be  let  out,  and  promised  never  to  be  guilty  of 
such  doings  any  more.  He  was  soon  let  off,  but 
this  cured  him  of  pilfering. 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  37 

One  day  Tom's  mother  was  beating  up  a  batter 
pudding,  and  she  placed  him  in  an  egg-shell  to  be 
out  of  harm's  way.  Tom  crept  out,  however,  and 
climbed  to  the  edge  of  the  bowl,  when  his  foot 
slipped,  and  he  fell  over  head  and  ears  into  the 
batter.  His  mother,  not  seeing  him,  stirred  him 
into  the  pudding,  which  she  next  put  into  the  pot 
to  boil.  Tom  soon  felt  the  scalding  water,  which 
made  him  kick  and  struggle. 

His  mother,  seeing  the  pudding  turn  round  and 
round  in  the  pot  in  such  a  furious  manner,  thought  it 
was  bewitched ;  and  as  a  tinker  came  by  just  at  the 
time,  she  quickly  gave  him  the  pudding,  which  he 
put  into  his  budget,  and  went  away. 

As  soon  as  Tom  could  get  the  batter  out  of  his 
mouth,  he  began  to  cry  aloud.  This  so  frightened 
the  poor  tinker  that  he  flung  the  pudding  over  the 
hedge,  and  ran  away  as  fast  as  he  could.  The  pud- 
ding being  broken  by  the  fall,  Tom  was  set  free,  so 
he  walked  home  to  his  mother,  who  kissed  him  and 
put  him  to  bed. 

Another  time,  Tom  Thumb's  mother  took  him 
with  her  when  she  went  to  milk  the  cow,  and  as  it 
was  a  very  windy  day,  she  tied  him  with  a  needleful 
of  thread  to  a  thistle,  that  he  might  not  be  blown 
away. 


88  THE  HISTORY   OF   TOM   THUMB. 

The  cow,  liking  his  oak-leaf  hat,  picked  him  and 
the  thistle  up  at  one  mouthful.  When  the  cow  began 
to  chew  the  thistle,  Tom  was  dreadfully  frightened 
at  her  great  teeth,  and  cried  out,  "Mother !  mother!" 

"  Where  are  you,  Tommy,  my  dear  Tommy  ? " 
cried  the  mother,  in  great  alarm. 

"  Here,  mother,  here,  in  the  red  cow's  mouth  !  " 

The  mother  began  to  cry  and  wring  her  hands ; 
but  the  cow,  surprised  at  such  odd  noises  in  her 
throat,  opened  her  mouth  and  let  him  drop  out. 
His  mother  caught  him  in  her  apron,  and  ran  home 
with  him. 

One  day,  as  Tom  Thumb's  father  was  in  the 
fields  with  him,  Tom  begged  to  be  allowed  to  take 
home  the  horse  and  cart.  The  father  laughed  at  the 
thought  of  little  Tom  driving  a  horse,  and  asked  him 
how  he  would  hold  the  reins. 

"  Oh,"  said  Tom,  "  I  will  sit  in  the  horse's  ear,  and 
call  out  which  way  he  is  to  go." 

The  father  consented,  and  off  Tom  set,  seated  in 
the  ear  of  the  horse.  "  Yeo  hup !  yeo  hup !  "  cried 
Tom,  as  he  passed  some  country  people,  who,  not 
seeing  Tom,  and  thinking  the  horse  was  bewitched, 
ran  off  very  fast. 

Tom's  mother  was  greatly  surprised  when  she  saw 
the  horse  arrive  at  the  cottage  door,  with  no  one  to 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  39 

guide  it,  and  she  ran  out  to  look  after  it ;  but  Tom 
called  out,  "Mother,  mother,  take  ine  down,  I  am 
in  the  horse's  ear !  " 

Tom's  mother  was  very  glad  that  her  little  son 
could  be  so  useful,  and  she  lifted  him  gently  down, 
and  gave  him  half  a  blackberry  for  his  dinner. 

After  this,  Tom's  father  made  him  a  whip  of 
barley-straw,  that  he  might  sometimes  drive  the 
cattle;  and  as  he  was  driving  them  home  one  day, 
he  fell  into  a  deep  furrow.  A  raven  picked  up  the 
straw,  with  Tom  too,  and  carried  him  to  the  top 
of  a  giant's  castle,  by  the  sea-side,  and  there  left 
him. 

Soon  afterwards  old  Grumbo,  the  giant,  came  out 
to  walk  on  the  terrace.  Grumbo  took  the  child  up 
between  his  finger  and  thumb,  and,  opening  his  great 
mouth,  he  tried  to  swallow  Tom  like  a  pill.  But  Tom 
so  danced  in  the  red  throat  of  the  giant,  that  he  soon 
cast  him  into  the  sea,  where  a  large  fish  swallowed 
him  in  an  instant. 

This  fish  was  soon  after  caught,  and  sent  as  a 
present  to  King  Arthur.  When  it  was  cut  open, 
everybody  was  delighted  with  the  sight  of  Tom 
Thumb,  who  was  found  inside.  The  king  made 
him  his  dwarf,  and  he  was  soon  a  very  great 
favorite ;  for  his  tricks  and  gambols,  and  lively 


40  THE  HISTORY  OF   TOM   THUMB. 

words  amused  the  queen  and  the  Knights  of  the 
Round  Table. 

When  the  king  rode  out,  he  frequently  took  Tom 
in  his  hand,  and  if  rain  fell,  he  used  to  creep  into  the 
king's  pocket,  and  sleep  till  the  rain  was  over. 

One  day,  the  king  asked  Torn  concerning  his 
parents,  and  finding  they  were  very  poor,  the  king 
led  Tom  into  his  treasury,  and  told  him  he  might 
pay  them  a  visit,  and  take  with  him  as  much  money 
as  he  could  carry. 

Torn  bought  a  small  purse,  and  putting  a  three- 
penny piece  into  it,  with  much  difficulty  got  it  upon 
his  back,  and  after  travelling  two  days  and  two 
nights,  reached  his  father's  cottage. 

His  mother  met  him  at  the  door,  almost  tired 
to  death,  having  travelled  forty-eight  hours  without 
resting,  with  a  huge  silver  three-penny  piece  upon 
his  back. 

His  parents  were  glad  to  see  him,  especially  when 
he  was  the  bearer  of  so  large  a  sum  of  money.  They 
placed  him  in  a  walnut  shell  by  the  fireside,  and 
feasted  him  on  a  hazel-nut  for  three  days. 

When  Tom  recovered  his  strength,  his  duty  told 
him  it  was  time  to  return  to  court ;  but  there  had 
been  such  a  heavy  fall  of  rain  that  he  could  not 
travel ;  so  his  mother  opened  the  window,  when  the 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.          41 

wind  was  blowing  in  the  proper  direction,  and  gave 
him  a  puff,  which  soon  carried  him  to  the  king's 
palace.  There  Tom  exerted  himself  so  much  at  tilts 
and  tournaments,  for  the  diversion  of  the  king, 
queen,  and  nobility,  that  he  brought  on  a  fit  of 
sickness,  and  his  life  was  despaired  of. 

The  queen  of  the  fairies  having  heard  of  this,  came 
in  a  chariot,  drawn  by  flying  mice,  and  placing  Tom 
by  her  side,  she  drove  back  through  the  air,  without 
stopping,  to  her  own  home. 

The  child  soon  recovered  health  and  strength  in 
fairy-land,  and  much  enjoyed  the  diversions  which 
were  prepared  for  his  amusement  in  that  happy 
country. 

After  awhile  the  queen  sent  him  back  to  the  king, 
floating  upon  a  current  of  air,  which  she  caused  to  be 
ready  for  the  journey.  Just  as  Tom  was  flying  over 
the  palace  yard,  the  cook  passed  along  with  a  great 
bowl  of  the  king's  favorite  dish,  furmenty,  and  poor 
Tom  fell  plumb  into  the  middle  of  it,  and  splashed  the 
hot  furmenty  into  the  cook's  eyes,  making  him  let  fall 
the  bowl. 

"  Oh  dear !  oh  dear ! "  cried  Tom. 

"  Murder !  murder ! "  cried  the  cook,  as  the  king's 
dainty  furmenty  ran  into  the  dog's  kennel. 

The  cook  was  a  red-faced,  cross  fellow,  and.  swore 


42  THE  HISTORY   OF  TOM  THUMB. 

to  the  king  that  Tom  had  done  it  out  of  some  evil 
design ;  so  he  was  taken  up,  tried  for  high  treason, 
and  sentenced  to  be  beheaded. 

Just  as  this  dreadful  sentence  was  given,  it  hap- 
pened that  a  miller  was  standing  by,  with  his  mouth 
wide  open ;  so  Tom  took  a  good  spring  and  jumped 
down  his  tbroat,unseen  by  any  one,  even  by  the  miller 
himself. 

The  culprit  being  now  lost,  the  court  broke  up 
and  the  miller  went  back  to  his  home.  But  Tom  did 
not  leave  him  long  at  rest;  he  began  to  roll  and 
tumble  about,  so  that  the  miller  thought  himself 
bewitched  and  sent  for  a  doctor. 

When  the  doctor  came,  Tom  began  to  dance  and 
sing.  The  doctor  was  more  frightened  than  the 
miller,  and  he  sent  in  a  hurry  for  ten  other  doctors 
and  twenty  wise  men,  who  began  to  discuss  the 
matter  at  great  length,  each  insisting  that  his  own 
explanation  was  the  true  one. 

The  miller  could  not  refrain  from  a  hearty  yawn, 
upon  which  Tom  seized  the  lucky  chance,  and,  with 
another  bold  jump,  he  alighted  safely  upon  his  feet 
on  the  middle  of  the  table.  The  miller,  in  a  fury, 
seized  Tom,  and  threw  him  out  of  the  window  into 
the  mill-stream,  where  he  was  once  more  swallowed 
up  by  a  fish. 


THE  HEABT  OF  OAK  BOOKS.          43 

As    happened   before,    the  fish  was    caught   and 
sold  in  the  market  to  the  steward  of  a  great  lord.  * 
The  nobleman,  seeing  such  a  fine  fish,  sent  it  as  a 
present  to  the  king,  who  ordered  it  to  be  cooked  for 
dinner. 

When  the.  fish  was  opened,  Tom  found  himself 
once  more  in  the  hands  of  the  cook,  who  imme- 
diately ran  with  him  to  the  king;  but  the  king 
being  busy  with  state  affairs,  ordered  him  to  be 
brought  another  day.  The  cook,  to  be  sure  of  the 
prisoner,  put  him  into  a  mouse-trap,  where  he  re- 
mained seven  days. 

After  that,  the  king  sent  for  him,  forgave  him  for 
throwing  down  the  furrnenty,  ordered  him  anew  suit 
of  clothes,  gave  him  a  spirited  hunter,  and  knighted 
him. 

His  shirt  was  made  of  butterflies'  wings ; 

His  boots  were  made  of  chickens'  skins ; 

His  coat  and  breeches  were  made  with  pride ; 

A  tailor's  needle  hung  by  his  side  ; 

A  mouse  for  a  horse  he  used  to  ride. 

Thus  dressed  and  mounted,  he  rode  a-hunting  with 
the  king  and  nobility,  who  all  laughed  heartily  at 
Tom  and  his  fine  prancing  steed. 

One  fine  day,  as  they  passed  an  old  farm-house, 


44  THE  HISTORY  OF  TOM  THUMB. 

a  large  black  cat  jumped  out  and  seized  both  Tom 
*  and  his  steed,  and  began  to  devour  the  poor  mouse. 
Tom  drew  his  sword,  and  boldly  attacked  the  cat. 

The  king  and  his  nobles  seeing  Tom  hi  danger,  went 
to  his  assistance,  and  one  of  the  lords  bravely  saved 
him  just  in  time ;  but  poor  Tom  was  sadly  scratched, 
and  his  clothes  were  torn  by  the  claws  of  the  cat. 

In  this  condition  he  was  carried  in  the  palace  and 
laid  on  a  bed  of  down  in  a  beautiful  ivory  cabinet. 
The  queen  of  the  fairies  then  came  and  took  him  to 
fairy-land  again,  where  she  kept  him  for  some  years ; 
after  which,  dressing  him  in  bright  green,  she  sent 
him  once  more  flying  through  the  air  to  the  earth. 

People  flocked  far  and  near  to  look  at  Tom  Thumb, 
and  he  was  carried  before  King  Thunstone,  who  had 
succeeded  to  the  throne,  King  Arthur  being  dead. 

The  king  asked  him  who  he  was,  whence  he  came, 
and  where  he  lived.  Tom  answered :  — 

"  My  name  is  Tom  Thumb, 
From  the  fairies  I've  come. 
When  King  Arthur  shone, 
This  court  was  my  home ; 
In  me  he  delighted, 
By  him  I  was  knighted  ; 
Did  you  never  once  hear  of  Sir  Thomas  Thumb  ?  " 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  45 

The  king  was  charmed  with  this  speech.  He 
caused  a  little  chair  to  be  made,  in  order  that  Tom 
might  sit  on  his  table ;  and  also  a  palace  of  gold  a 
span  high,  with  a  door  an  inch  wide,  for  little  Tom  to 
live  in.  He  also  gave  him  a  coach,  drawn  by  six 
small  mice.  This  made  the  queen  angry,  because  she 
had  not  got  a  coach  also.  She  made  up  her  mind  to 
ruin  Tom,  and  told  the  king  that  he  had  been  very 
insolent  to  her ;  when  the  king  sent  for  Tom  in  a 
great  rage.  To  escape  his  fury,  Tom  hid  himself  in 
an  empty  snail-shell,  where  he  lay  till  he  was  nearly 
starved. 

At  last,  peeping  out,  he  saw  a  fine  butterfly 
settle  on  the  ground.  He  now  ventured  forth,  and 
got  astride  the  butterfly,  which  took  wing  and 
mounted  into  the  air  with  little  Tom  on  his  back. 

Away  they  went  from  field  to  field,  and  from 
flower  to  flower,  till  the  butterfly,  attracted  by 
the  light  streaming  from  the  king's  dining-room, 
flew  in  at  the  open  window.  The  king,  queen,  and 
nobles  all  strove  to  catch  the  butterfly,  but  could  not. 

At  length  poor  Tom,  having  neither  saddle  nor 
bridle,  slipped  from  his  seat  into  a  sweet  dish  called 
whitepot,  and  was  nearly  drowned.  The  queen  was 
bent  on  having  him  punished,  and  he  was  once 
more  put  in  a  mouse-trap.  Here  the  cat,  seeing 


4G 


THE  HISTORY  OF   TOM   THUMB. 


THK  HISTORY  OK  TOM  THUMB. 
TOLD  IN  PICTURES. 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS. 


47 


THE  HISTORY  OF  TOM  THUMB. 
TOLD  IN  PICTURES. 


48  THE  HISTORY  OF   TOM   THUMB. 

something  stir,  and  thinking  a  mouse  was  there,  so 
rolled  about  the  trap  with  her  claws,  that  she  broke 
it,  and  the  prisoner  escaped. 

Soon  afterward  a  large  spider,  taking  poor  Tom 
for  a  big  fly,  made  a  spring  at  him.  Tom  drew  his 
sword,  and  fought  with  courage,  but  the  poisonous 
breath  of  the  spider  overcame  him. 

He  fell  dead  on  the  ground  where  late  he  had  stood, 
And  the  spider  sucked  up  the  last  drop  of  his  blood. 

King  Thunstone  and  all  his  court  wept  for  the 
loss  of  the  little  favorite.  They  wore  mourning  for 
him  for  three  years.  He  was  buried  under  a  rosebush, 
and  a  marble  head-stone  was  raised  over  his  grave, 
bearing  these  words :  — 

Here  lies  Tom  Thumb,  King  Arthur's  knight, 

Who  died  by  spider's  cruel  bite ; 
He  was  well  known  in  Arthur's  court, 

Where  he  afforded  gallant  sport. 
He  rode  a  tilt  and  tournament, 

And  on  a  mouse  a-hunting  went ; 
Alive,  he  filled  the  court  with  mirth, 

His  death  to  sorrow  soon  gave  birth ; 
Wipe,  wipe  your  eyes,  and  shake  your  head, 

And  cry,  "  Alas !  Tom  Thumb  is  dead ! " 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  49 


THE  LARK  AND  HER  YOUNG  ONES. 

A  Lark,  who  had  Young  Ones  in  a  field  of  grain 
which  was  almost  ripe,  was  afraid  that  the  reapers 
would  come  before  her  young  brood  were  fledged. 
So  every  day  when  she  flew  off  to  look  for  food,  she 
charged  them  to  take  note  of  what  they  heard  in 
her  absence,  and  to  tell  her  of  it  when  she  came 
home. 

One  day,  when  she  was  gone,  they  heard  the  owner 
of  the  field  say  to  his  son  that  the  grain  seemed  ripe 
enough  to  be  cut,  and  tell  him  to  go  early  the  next 
day  and  ask  their  friends  and  neighbors  to  come  and 
help  reap  it. 

."When  the  old  Lark  came  home,  the  Little  Ones 
quivered  and  chirped  round  her,  and  told  her  what 
had  happened,  begging  her  to  take  them  away  as 
fast  as  she  could.  The  mother  bade  them  be  easy; 
"  for,"  said  she,  "  if  he  depends  on  his  friends  and 
his  neighbors,  I  am  sure  the  grain  will  not  be  reaped 
to-morrow." 

Next  day,  she  went  out  again,  and  left  the  same 
orders  as  before.  The  owner  came,  and  waited. 
The  sun  grew  hot,  but  nothing  was  done,  for  not  a 
soul  came.  "  You  see."  said  the  owner  to  his  son, 


50  THE  LARK  AND  HER    YOUNG    ONES. 

"  these  friends  of  ours  are  not  to  be  depended  upon  ; 
so  rim  off  at  once  to  your  uncles  and  cousins,  and 
say  I  wish  them  to  come  early  to-morrow  morning 
and  help  us  reap." 

This  the  Young  Ones,  in  a  great  fright,  told  also 
to  their  mother.  "  Do  not  fear,  children,"  said  she  ; 
"  kindred  and  relations  are  not  always  very  forward 
in  helping  one  another;  but  keep  your  ears  open, 
and  let  me  know  what  you  hear  to-morrow." 

The  owner  came  the  next  day,  and,  finding  his 
relations  as  backward  as  his  neighbors,  said  to  his 
son,  "  Now  listen  to  me.  Get  two  good  sickles  ready 
for  to-morrow  morning,  for  it  seems  we  must  reap 
the  grain  by  ourselves." 

The  Young  Ones  told  this  to  their  mother.  "  Then, 
my  dears,"  said  she,  "  it  is  time  for  us  to  go ;  for 
when  a  man  undertakes  to  do  his  work  himself, 
it  is  not  so  likely  that  he  will  be  disappointed." 
She  took  them  away  at  once,  and  the  grain  was 
reaped  the  next  day  by  the  old  man  and  his  son. 


REMEDY   FOR   EVIL. 

For  every  evil  under  the  sun, 
There  is  a  remedy,  or  there  is  none. 
If  there  be  one,  try  to  find  it ; 
If  there  be  none,  never  mind  it. 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  51 

THE  LANGUAGE  OF  BIRDS. 

Samuel  Taylor  Coleridge. 

Do  you  ask  what  the  birds  say  ?     The  Sparrow,  the 

Dove, 

The  Linnet  and  Thrush  say,  "  I  love  and  I  love  ! " 
In  the  winter  they're  silent  —  the  wind  is  so  strong  ; 
What  it  says,  I  don't  know,  but  it  sings  a  loud  song. 
But   green   leaves,  and   blossoms,  and   sunny  warm 

weather, 
And  singing,  and  loving  —  all  come  back  together. 

"  I  love,  and  I  love,"  almost  all  the  birds  say 
From  sunrise  to  star-rise,  so  gladsome  are  they ! 
But  the  Lark  is  so  brimful  of  gladness  and  love, 
The  green  fields  below  him,  the  blue  sky  above, 
That  he  sings,  and  he  sings ;  and  for  ever  sings  he  — 
"  I  love  my  Love,  and  my  Love  loves  me ! " 


THE  SWALLOW. 

Cliristina    O.    Rossetti. 


Fly  away,  fly  away  over  the  sea, 

Sun-loving  swallow,  for  summer  is  done ; 

Come  again,  come  again,  come  back  to  me, 
Bringing  the  summer  and  bringing  the  sun. 


52       ONE  SWALLOW  DOES  NOT  MAKE  A   SUMMER. 

ONE  SWALLOW  DOES  NOT  MAKE  A  SUMMER. 

A  reckless  young  spendthrift  who  had  only  his 
cloak  left,  spied  one  day  a  Swallow  out  of  season. 
Thinking  spring  had  come,  he  sold  his  cloak;  but 
not  long  afterward,  a  storm  arose,  and  the  poor 
Swallow  could  not  survive  the  cold.  "Ah,  my 
friend,"  said  the  heedless  spendthrift,  "you  have 
ruined  me,  and  are  lost  yourself." 


COME,  MY   CHILDREN. 

Come,  my  children,  come  away, 
For  the  sun  shines  bright  to-day ; 
Little  children,  come  with  me, 
Birds,  and  brooks,  and  flowers  to  see. 

See  the  little  lambs  at  play 
In  the  meadows  bright  and  gay ; 
How  they  leap,  and  skip,  and  run, 
Full  of  frolic,  full  of  fun  ! 

Bring  the  hoop  and  bring  the  ball ; 

Come,  with  happy  faces  all, 

Let  us  make  a  merry  ring, 

Talk  and  dance,  and  laugh  and  sing. 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  53 

AN   EMERALD   IS  AS   GREEN   AS   GRASS 
Christina    O.   Rossetti. 

An  emerald  is  as  green  as  grass; 

A  ruby  red  as  blood ; 
A  sapphire  shines  as  blue  as  heaven ; 

A  flint  lies  in  the  mud. 

A  diamond  is  a  brilliant  stone 

To  catch  the  world's  desire ; 
An  opal  holds  a  fiery  spark ; 

But  a  flint  holds  fire. 


DIAMONDS   AND*  TOADS. 

There  was,  once  upon  a  time,  a  widow  who  had 
two  daughters.  The  eldest  was  so  much  like  her  in 
face  and  humor,  that  whoever  looked  upon  the 
daughter  saw  the  mother.  They  were  both  so  dis- 
agreeable, and  so  proud,  that  there  was  no  living 
with  them. 

The  youngest,  who  was  the  very  picture  of  her 
father  for  courtesy  and  sweetness  of  temper,  was 
withal  one  of  the  most  beautiful  girls  was  ever 
seen. 


54  DIAMONDS  AND    TOADS. 

People  naturally  love  their  own  likenesses,  and 
this  mother  doted  on  her  eldest  daughter;  but  at 
the  same  time  she  had  a  sad  aversion  for  the 
youngest.  She  made  her  eat  in  the  kitchen,  and 
work  continually. 

Among  other  things,  this  poor  child  was  forced 
twice  a  day  to  draw  water  above  a  mile  and  a  half 
from  the  house,  and  bring  home  a  pitcher  full  of 
it.  One  day,  as  she  was  at  this  fountain,  there 
came  to  her  a  poor  woman,  who  begged  of  her  to 
let  her  drink. 

"0,  yes,  with  all  my  heart,  Goody,"  said  this 
pretty  little  girl ;  and  rinsing  the  pitcher,  she  took 
up  some  water  from  the  clearest  place  of  the  foun- 
tain, and  gave  it  to  her,  holding  up  the  pitcher  all 
the  while  that  she  might  drink  the  easier. 

The  good  woman  having  drunk,  said  to  her, 
"You  are  so  very  pretty,  my  dear,  so  good  and 
so  mannerly,  that  I  cannot  help  giving  you  a  gift " 
—  for  this  was  a  fairy,  who  had  taken  the  form 
of  a  poor  country  woman,  to  see  how  far  the 
civility  and  good  manners  of  this  pretty  girl  would 
go.  "I  will  give  you  for  gift,"  continued  the 
fairy,  "  that  at  every  word  you  speak,  there  shall 
come  out  of  your  mouth  either  a  flower  or  a 
jewel." 


THE  HEART   OF   OAK  BOOKS.  55 

When  this  pretty  girl  came  home,  her  mother 
scolded  at  her  for  staying  so  long  at  the  fountain. 

"I  beg  your  pardon,  mamma,"  said  the  poor 
girl,  "  for  not  making  more  haste ; "  and,  in  speak- 
ing these  words,  there  came  out  of  her  mouth  two 
roses,  two  pearls,  and  two  large  diamonds. 

"  What  is  it  I  see  there  ? "  said  her  mother 
quite  astonished.  "  I  think  I  see  pearls  and  dia- 
monds come  out  of  the  girl's  mouth !  How  hap- 
pens this,  my  child?"  —  This  was  the  first  time 
she  ever  called  her  her  child. 

The  poor  creature  told  her  frankly  all  the  mat- 
ter, not  without  dropping  out  infinite  numbers  of 
diamonds. 

"In  good  faith,"  cried  the  mother,  "  I  must  send 
my  child  thither.  Come  hither,  Fanny,  look  what 
comes  out  of  your  sister's  mouth  when  she  speaks  ! 
Would  you  not  be  glad,  my  dear,  to  have  the  same 
gift  given  to  you  ?  You  have  nothing  else  to  do  but 
go  draw  water  out  of  the  fountain,  and  when  a 
certain  poor  woman  asks  you  to  let  her  drink,  to 
give  it  her  very  civilly." 

"  It  would  be  a  very  fine  sight,  indeed,"  said  this 
ill-bred  minx,  "  to  see  me  go  draw  water  !  " 

"  You  shall  go,  hussy,"  said  the  mother,  "  and  this 
minute." 


56  DIAMONDS  AND    TOADS. 

So  away  she  went,  but  grumbling  all  the  way, 
and  taking  with  her  the  best  silver  tankard  in  the 
house. 

She  was  no  sooner  at  the  fountain  than  she  saw 
coming  out  of  the  wood  a  lady  most  gloriously 
dressed,  who  came  up  to  her  and  asked  to  drink. 

This  was,  you  must  know,  the  very  fairy  who 
appeared  to  her  sister,  but  who  had  now  taken  the 
air  and  dress  of  a  princess  to  see  how  far  this  girl's 
rudeness  would  go. 

"Am  I  come  hither,"  said  the  proud,  saucy  maid, 
"  to  serve  you  with  water,  pray  ?  I  suppose  the 
silver  tankard  was  brought  purely  for  your  ladyship, 
was  it  ?  However,  you  may  drink  out  of  it,  if  you 
have  a  fancy." 

"  You  are  not  over  and  above  mannerly,"  an- 
swered the  fairy,  without  putting  herself  in  a  pas- 
sion. "  Well,  then,  since  you  have  so  little  breeding, 
and  are  so  disobliging,  I  give  you  for  gift,  that  at 
every  word  you  speak  there  shall  come  out  of  your 
mouth  a  snake  or  a  toad." 

So  soon  as  her  mother  saw  her  coming,  she  cried 
out,  "  Well,  daughter." 

"  Well,  mother,"  answered  the  pert  hussy,  throw- 
ing out  of  her  mouth  two  vipers  and  two  toads. 

"  0  mercy ! "  cried  the  mother,  "  what  is  it  I  see ! 


THE  HE  AST   OF   OAK  BOOKS.  51 

0,  it  is  that  wretch,  her  sister,  who  has  occasioned 
all  this  -,  but  she  shall  pay  for  it; "  and  immediately 
she  ran  to  beat  her. 

The  poor  child  fled  away  from  her,  and  went  to 
hide  herself  in  the  forest,  not  far  from  thence. 

The  king's  son,  then  on  his  return  from  hunting, 
met  her  and  seeing  her  so  very  pretty,  asked  her 
what  she  did  there  alone,  and  why  she  cried. 
"  Alas !  sir,  my  mamma  has  turned  me  out  of 
doors." 

The  king's  son,  who  saw  five  or  six  pearls,  and  as 
many  diamonds,  come  out  of  her  mouth,  desired  her 
to  tell  him  how  that  happened.  She  thereupon  told 
him  the  whole  story ;  and  so  the  king's  son  fell  in 
love  with  her;  and,  considering  with  himself  that 
such  a  gift  was  worth  more  than  any  marriage-por- 
tion whatsoever  in  another,  he  conducted  her  to  the 
palace  of  the  king  his  father,  and  there  married 
her. 

As  for  her  sister,  she  made  herself  so  much  hated 
that  her  own  mother  turned  her  off ;  and  the  miser- 
able girl,  having  wandered  about  a  good  while  with- 
out finding  anybody  to  take  her  in,  went  to  a  corner 
in  the  wood  and  there  died. 


58  THE  SPIDER  AND   THE  FLY. 

THE    SPIDER   AND   THE  FLY. 

Mary  Howitt. 

"  Will  you  walk  into  my  parlor  ?  " 
Said  the  Spider  to  the  Fly ; 

"  'Tis  the  prettiest  little  parlor 
That  ever  you  did  spy. 

"The  way  into  my  parlor 

Is  up  a  winding  stair, 
And  I  have  many  curious  things 

To  show  when  you  are  there." 

"  Oh  no,  no,"  said  the  little  Fly, 

"  To  ask  me  is  in  vain ; 
For  who  goes  up  your  winding  stair 

Can  ne'er  come  down  again." 

"I'm  sure  you  must  be  weary,  dear, 

With  soaring  up  so  high  ; 
Will  you  rest  upon  my  little  bed  ?  " 

Said  the  Spider  to  the  Fly. 

"  There  are  pretty  curtains  drawn  around ; 

The  sheets  are  fine  and  thin, 
And  if  you  like  to  rest  awhile, 

I'll  snugly  tuck  you  in  !  " 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  59 

"  Oh  no,  no,"  said  the  little  Fly, 

"  For  I've  often  heard  it  said, 
They  never,  never  wake  again, 

Who  sleep  upon  your  bed." 

Said  the  cunning  Spider  to  the  Fly . 

"  Dear  friend,  what  can  I  do 
To  prove  the  warm  affection 

I've  always  felt  for  you  ? 

"  I  have  within  my  pantry 

Good  store  of  all  that's  nice : 
I'm  sure  you're  very  welcome  — 

Will  you  please  to  take  a  slice  ?  " 

"  Oh  no,  no,"  said  the  little  Fly, 

"  Kind  sir,  that  cannot  be  ; 
I've  heard  what's  in  your  pantry, 

And  I  do  not  wish  to  see." 

u  Sweet  creature  !  "  said  the  Spider, 

"  You're  witty  and  you're  wise ; 
How  handsome  are  your  gauzy  wings ! 

How  brilliant  are  your  eyes  ! 

"  I  have  a  little  looking-glass 

Upon  my  parlor  shelf ; 
If  you'll  step  in  one  moment,  dear, 

You  shall  behold  yourself." 


60  THE  SPIDER  AND   THE  FLY. 

"  I  thank  you,  gentle  sir,"  she  said, 
"  For  what  you're  pleased  to  say, 

And,  bidding  you  good-morning  now, 
I'll  call  another  day." 

The  Spider  turned  him  round  about, 

And  went  into  his  den, 
For  well  he  knew  the  silly  Fly 

Would  soon  come  back  again : 

So  he  wove  a  subtle  web 

In  a  little  corner  sly, 
And  set  his  table  ready 

To  dine  upon  the  fly. 

Then  came  out  to  his  door  again, 

And  merrily  did  sing : 
"  Come  hither,  hither,  pretty  Fly, 

With  the  pearl  and  silver  wing ; 

"  Your  robes  are  green  and  purple  — 
There's  a  crest  upon  your  head ; 

Your  eyes  are  like  the  diamond  bright, 
But  mine  are  dull  as  lead !  " 

Alas,  alas  !  how  very  soon 

This  silly  little  Fly, 
Hearing  his  wily,  flattering  words, 

Came  slowly  flitting  by ; 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  61 

With  buzzing  wings  he  hung  aloft, 

Then  near  and  nearer  drew, 
Thinking  only  of  her  brilliant  eyes, 

And  green  and  purple  hue  — 

Thinking  only  of  her  crested  head  — 

Poor,  foolish  thing !    At  last, 
Up  jumped  the  cunning  Spider, 

And  fiercely  held  her  fast. 

He  dragged  her  up  his  winding  stair, 

Into  his  dismal  den, 
Within  his  little  parlor  - 

But  she  ne'er  came  out  again. 

And  now,  dear  little  children, 

Who  may  this  story  read, 
To  idle,  silly,  flattering  words, 

I  pray  you  ne'er  give  heed. 

Unto  an  evil  counsellor 

Close  heart  and  ear  and  eye, 
And  take  a  lesson  from  this  tale 

Of  the  Spider  and  the  Fly. 


Pride  goeth  before  destruction 
And  a  haughty  spirit  before  a  fall. 


62  JACK  AND   THE  BEANSTALK. 

JACK   AND  THE   BEANSTALK. 

A  long  time  ago,  there  lived  a  widow,  whose 
cottage  was  in  a  remote  country  village,  many  miles 
from  London. 

She  had  an  only  child  named  Jack,  whom  she 
indulged  so  much  that  he  had  little  care  for  anything 
she  said,  and  became  idle,  inattentive,  and  a  spend- 
thrift. It  is  true,  his  follies  were  not  owing  to  an 
evil  nature,  but  to  his  mother's  never  having  checked 
him.  She  was  poor,  and  he  would  not  work ;  and 
she  was  forced  to  maintain  herself  and  him  by  selling 
what  she  had. 

At  last,  scarcely  anything  was  left  but  a  cow. 
The  poor  woman,  with  tears  in  her  eyes,  for  the 
first  time  in  her  life,  could  not  help  blaming  Jack. 

"  Oh,  you  wicked  child,"  she  said,  "  by  your  course 
of  life  you  have  at  last  brought  us  both  to  ruin.  I 
have  not  money  enough  to  buy  a  bit  of  bread  for 
another  day ;  nothing  is  left  but  my  cow,  and  that 
must  now  be  sold  or  we  must  starve ! " 

For  a  few  minutes  Jack  felt  a  degree  of  shame, 
but  it  was  soon  over ;  and  becoming  very  hungry 
for  want  of  food,  he  teased  his  mother  so  much  to 
let  him  sell  the  cow  at  the  next  village,  that  she 
at  last  consented. 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  63 

As  he  was  going  along  he  met  a  butcher,  who 
asked  why  he  was  driving  the  cow  from  home. 
Jack  replied  that  he  was  going  to  sell  it. 

The  butcher  had  some  curious  beans  in  his  bag; 
they  were  of  various  colors,  and  attracted  Jack's 
notice.  This  the  butcher  saw,  and  knowing  Jack's 
easy  temper,  he  thought  he  would  take  advantage 
of  it,  and  offered  them  all  for  the  cow. 

The  silly  boy  thought  it  a  great  offer;  the  bar- 
gain was  instantly  struck,  and  the  cow  exchanged 
for  a  few  paltry  beans. 

When  Jack  told  his  mother,  her  patience  quite 
forsook  her;  she  threw  the  beans  from  the  door. 
They  flew  in  all  directions,  and  some  fell  upon  the 
newly  ploughed  ground  of  the  garden.  Then  she 
threw  her  apron  over  her  head,  and  cried  bitterly. 
Jack  tried  to  comfort  her,  but  in  vain  ;  and,  not  hav- 
ing anything  to  eat,  they  both  went  supperless  to  bed. 

Jack  woke  very  early  the  next  morning,  and 
seeing  something  uncommon  from  his  chamber 
window,  he  ran  down  stairs  into  the  garden,  where 
he  soon  found  that  some  of  the  beans  had  taken 
root  and  sprung  up  surprisingly.  The  stalks  were 
of  great  thickness,  and  had  so  entwined  that  they 
formed  a  ladder  like  a  chain  in  appearance,  and  so 
high  that  the  top  appeared  to  be  lost  in  the  clouds. 


64  JACK  AND    THE  BEANSTALK. 

Jack  was  an  adventurous  lad.  He  tried  the  stalk, 
found  it  firm  and  not  to  be  shaken.  He  then  quickly 
made  up  his  mind  to  climb  the  beanstalk  and  see 
where  it  would  lead  to.  Full  of  this  plan,  which 
made  him  forget  even  his  hunger,  Jack  ran  to  tell 
his  mother  his  intention.  But  she  declared  he  should 
not  go,  saying  he  would  break  her  heart.  She 
begged,  and  then  threatened  ;  but  all  in  vain. 

Jack  set  out,  and  after  climbing  for  some  hours, 
reached  the  top  of  the  beanstalk,  tired  and  worn  out. 
Looking  round,  he  was  surprised  to  find  himself  in  a 
strange  country.  It  seemed  to  be  a  quite  barren 
desert,  —  not  a  tree,  shrub,  house,  or  living  thing 
was  to  be  seen. 

Jack  seated  himself  upon  a  block  of  stone,  and 
thought  seriously  of  his  mother.  He  was  very 
hungry ;  he  thought  with  sorrow  on  his  disobedi- 
ence in  climbing  the  beanstalk  against  her  will ; 
and  he  feared  that  he  must  now  die  for  want  of 
food. 

However,  he  got  up  and  walked  on,  hoping  to 
see  a  house  where  he  might  beg  something  to  eat 
and  drink. 

Presently  he  saw  a  beautiful  lady  in  the  distance. 
She  was  handsomely  dressed  and  had  a  small  white 
staff  in  her  hand,  on  the  top  of  which  sat  a  peacock 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.          65 

of  pure  gold.  Jack,  who  was  a  gallant  fellow,  went 
straight  up  to  her.  With  a  bewitching  smile,  she 
asked  him  how  he  came  there.  Jack  told  her  all 
about  the  beanstalk. 

"  Do  you  remember  your  father,  young  man  ? " 
asked  the  lady. 

"  No,"  replied  Jack ;  "  but  I  am  sure  there  is  some 
mystery  about  him,  for  when  I  mention  his  name  to 
my  mother,  she  always  begins  to  weep,  and  will  tell 
me  nothing." 

"  She  dare  not,"  answered  the  lady,  "  but  I  can, 
and  will.  For  know,  young  man,  that  I  am  a  fairy, 
and  was  made  your  father's  guardian  at  his  birth. 
But  fairies  have  laws  to  which  they  are  subject  as 
well  as  mortals ;  and  by  an  error  of  mine,  I  lost  my 
power,  so  that  I  was  unable  to  help  your  father  when 
he  most  needed  it,  and  he  died."  Here  the  fairy 
looked  so  sorrowful  that  Jack's  heart  warmed  to  her, 
and  he  begged  her  earnestly  to  tell  him  more. 

"  I  will,"  said  she,  "  but  before  I  begin,  I  ask  a 
solemn  promise  on  your  part  to  do  what  I  command  ; 
and  unless  you  do  exactly  what  I  tell  you  to,  your 
mother  and  yourself  shall  both  be  destroyed." 

Jack  was  rather  frightened  at  this,  but  he  said  he 
would  follow  her  direction,  and  the  fairy  went  on 
to  say :  — 


66  JACK  AND   THE  BEANSTALK. 

"  Your  father  was  a  rich  man,  very  good-hearted, 
and  always  aiding  the  poor.  He  made  it  a  rule  never 
to  refuse  aid  to  those  in  his  neighborhood  who 
deserved  it ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  to  seek  out  the 
helpless  and  distressed,  and  not  to  let  a  day  pass 
without  doing  a  kindness  to  some  person.  His  ser- 
vants were  all  happy,  and  greatly  attached  both  to 
their  master  and  mistress.  Your  father  deserved  all 
the  wealth  he  had,  for  he  lived  only  to  do  good. 

"  His  kind  disposition  won  him  the  esteem  of  the 
good,  but  could  not  screen  him  from  the  envious  and 
wicked  part  of  mankind.  He  had  one  misfortune,  — 
a  false  friend. 

"  Not  many  miles  from  your  father's  house  lived  a 
powerful  giant,  who  was  the  dread  of  all  the  country 
for  his  cruelty  and  oppression ;  he  was  envious,  cov- 
etous, and  cruel,  and  hated  to  hear  others  talked  of 
for  their  goodness  towards  men.  He  vowed  to  do 
your  father  a  mischief,  so  that  he  might  no  longer 
hear  his  good  actions  told  by  every  one ;  and  he  soon 
made  up  a  plan  to  put  his  wicked  thoughts  into 
practice. 

"  Having  come  to  your  father's  neighborhood,  he 
gave  out  that  he  had  just  lost  all  he  had  by  an  earth- 
quake, and  found  it  difficult  to  get  off  with  his  life. 
Your  father  believed  his  story  and  pitied  him;  he 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  67 

took  him  to  his  own  house  and  treated  the  giant 
and  his  wife  as  visitors  of  distinction.  Before  long, 
however,  the  ungrateful  giant  became  impatient  to 
carry  out  his  plan,  and  the  chance  soon  came. 

"From  your  father's  house  the  sea  could  be  seen 
distinctly,  and  one  day  when  the  wind  was  very 
high,  the  giant  saw  a  fleet  of  ships  in  distress 
off  the  rocks.  He  hastened  to  tell  the  news  to 
your  father,  and  eagerly  asked  him  to  send  all  his 
servants  to  aid  the  sufferers.  Every  one  was  in- 
stantly despatched  to  the  scene  of  the  wreck.  Your 
father  and  the  giant  were  then  seated  together 
in  the  parlor,  when  no  sooner  did  your  poor 
father  turn  his  back  than  the  brutal  giant  stabbed 
him. 

"You  were  then  only  three  months  old;  your 
mother  had  you  in  her  arms  in  another  part  of 
the  house,  and  was  ignorant  of  what  was  going 
on.  But  she  soon  came  to  the  parlor,  where  the 
giant,  who  had  gone  to  look  for  her,  found  her 
motionless  with  grief.  He  was  about  to  serve  her 
and  you  as  he  had  done  your  father,  but  she  fell 
at  his  feet,  and  begged  him  to  spare  your  life  and 
her  own. 

"  The  cruel  giant  for  a  short  time  was  struck  with 
remorse,  and  spared  your  life  and  hers;  but  first  he 


68  JACK  AND   THE  BEANSTALK. 

made  her  swear  that  she  would  never  tell  the  story 
of  her  wrongs  to  any  one. 

"  Your  mother  took  you  in  her  arms  and  fled  as 
quickly  as  possible ;  but  she  was  scarcely  gone  when 
the  giant  was  sorry  that  he  had  suffered  her  to  escape, 
and  would  have  gone  after  her  but  he  had  to  get 
away  before  the  servants  returned. 

"  Having  gained  your  father's  confidence,  he  knew 
where  to  find  all  his  treasure  ;  with  this  he  soon  loaded 
himself  and  his  wife,  set  the  house  on  fire  in  several 
places  ;  and  when  the  servants  came  back,  the  house 
was  burnt  down  to  the  ground. 

"  Your  poor  mother,  in  sad  distress,  wandered 
with  you  a  great  many  miles  away,  not  knowing 
where  to  rest.  At  last  she  settled  in  the  cottage 
where  you  were  brought  up,  and  it  was  wholly  owing 
to  her  fear  of  the  giant  that  she  has  never  told  you 
of  your  father. 

"  The  day  on  which  you  met  the  butcher,  as  you 
went  to  sell  your  mother's  cow,  my  power  came 
back.  It  was  I  who  secretly  caused  you  to  take 
the  beans  for  the  cow.  By  my  power  the  bean- 
stalk grew  to  so  great  a  height,  and  formed  a  ladder. 

"  The  giant  lives  in  this  country ;  you  are  the 
person  appointed  to  punish  him  for  his  wickedness. 
You  will  run  great  dangers ;  but  you  must  go  on  until 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  69 

you  thoroughly  punish  him,  or  you  will  not  prosper  in 
anything  you  wish  to  do. 

"  As  to  the  giant's  property,  everything  he  has  is 
yours ;  you  may  take,  therefore,  whatever  part  of  it 
you  can.  One  thing  I  strictly  charge  you  :  do  not  let 
your  mother  know  that  you  know  your  father's  history 
until  you  see  me  again. 

"  Go  along  the  straight  road.  You  will  soon  see 
the  house  where  your  cruel  adversary  lives.  While 
you  do  as  I  order  you,  I  will  protect  and  guard  you ; 
but  remember,  if  you  disobey  my  commands,  you 
shall  suffer  in  a  dreadful  way." 

As  soon  as  the  fairy  had  ended,  she  disappeared, 
leaving  Jack  to  go  on  his  journey.  He  walked  on 
till  after  sunset,  when,  to  his  great  joy,  he  caught 
sight  of  a  large  house.  His  drooping  spirits  re- 
vived ;  he  redoubled  his  speed,  and  soon  reached  it. 

A  plain-looking  woman  was  at  the  door.  He  spoke 
to  her,  and  begged  her  to  give  him  a  morsel  of  bread 
and  a  night's  lodging.  She  expressed  surprise  at 
seeing  him,  and  said  it  was  an  uncommon  thing  to 
see  a  human  being  near  their  house,  for  it  was  well 
known  that  her  husband  was  a  cruel  and  powerful 
giant  who  would  feed  on  human  flesh  if  he  could  get  it. 

This  information  greatly  terrified  Jack ;  but  he 
trusted  to  the  fairy's  protection,  and  again  begged 


70  JACK  AND   THE  BEANSTALK. 

the  woman  to  take  him  for  one  night  only  and  hide 
him  where  she  thought  proper.  The  good  woman 
at  last  suffered  herself  to  be  persuaded,  for  she  was 
of  a  tender  and  generous  disposition,  and  took  him 
into  the  house. 

First  they  entered  a  large  hall  finely  furnished; 
they  then  passed  through  several  spacious  rooms,  all 
in  the  same  fine  style ;  but  they  seemed  to  be  quite 
desolate.  A  long  gallery  was  next  entered ;  it  was 
just  light  enough  to  show  that,  instead  of  a  wall, 
there  was  on  one  side  a  grating  of  iron,  which 
parted  off  a  dungeon,  where  were  several  poor  men 
whom  the  giant  was  keeping  till  he  should  want 
them. 

Poor  Jack  was  half  dead  with  fear,  and  would 
have  given  the  world  to  be  with  his  mother  again ; 
for  he  now  began  to  fear  that  he  should  never  see 
her  more,  and  was  almost  inclined  to  give  him- 
self up  for  lost.  He  even  had  doubts  of  the  good 
woman,  and  thought  she  had  led  him  into  the  house 
for  no  other  purpose  than  to  lock  him  among  the 
unhappy  men  in  the  dungeon.  Still,  he  remem- 
bered the  fairy,  and  a  gleam  of  hope  came  into  his 
heart. 

At  the  farther  end  of  the  gallery  there  was  a 
spacious  kitchen,  and  a  very  excellent  fire  was  burning 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  71 

in  the  grate.  The  good  woman  bade  Jack  sit  down 
and  gave  him  plenty  to  eat  and  drink. 

Jack,  seeing  nothing  here  to  make  him  uncomfort- 
able, soon  forgot  his  fear,  and  was  just  beginning  to 
enjoy  himself,  when  he  was  disturbed  by  a  knocking 
at  the  gate,  which  was  so  loud  as  to  cause  the  whole 
house  to  shake.  The  giant's  wife  ran  to  hide  him  in 
the  oven,  and  then  went  to  let  in  her  husband ;  and 
Jack  heard  him  say  to  her  in  a  voice  of  thunder, 
"  Wife,  wife,  I  smell  fresh  meat !  "  "  Oh,  my  dear," 
answered  she,  "  it  is  nothing  but  the  people  in  the 
dungeon." 

The  giant  seemed  to  believe  her  and  walked  into 
the  very  kitchen  where  poor  Jack  was  hidden,  who  now 
shook  and  trembled  and  was  more  terrified  than  he 
had  yet  been. 

At  last  the  monster  seated  himself  quietly  by  the 
fireside,  while  his  wife  got  ready  his  supper.  By 
degrees  Jack  recovered  himself  enough  to  look  at  the 
giant  through  a  small  crack.  He  was  surprised  to  see 
how  much  he  ate,  and  thought  he  would  never  have 
done  eating  and  drinking.  When  he  was  through 
supper,  the  giant  leaned  back,  and  called  to  his  wife 
in  a  voice  like  thunder :  — 

*  Bring  me  my  hen !  " 

She  obeyed,  and  put  upon  the  table  a  beautiful  hen. 


72  JACK  AND    THE  BEANSTALK. 

"  Lay ! "  roared  the  giant,  and  the  hen  imme- 
diately laid  an  egg  of  solid  gold. 

"  Lay  another ! "  he  yelled,  and  every  time  the 
giant  shouted  "  Lay ! "  the  hen  laid  a  larger  egg 
than  before. 

The  giant  amused  himself  a  long  time  with  his 
hen,  and  then  sent  his  wife  to  bed.  At  length,  he 
fell  asleep  by  the  fireside,  and  snored  like  the  roar- 
ing of  a  cannon. 

At  daybreak,  Jack,  finding  the  giant  not  likely 
to  wake  soon,  crept  softly  from  his  hiding-place, 
seized  the  hen,  and  ran  off  with  her.  He  easily 
found  his  way  to  the  beanstalk,  and  went  down 
it  more  readily  than  he  expected.  His  mother  was 
overjoyed  to  see  him. 

"  Now  mother,"  said  Jack,  "  I  have  brought  you 
home  that  which  will  speedily  make  you  rich." 
The  hen  laid  as  many  golden  eggs  as  they  wished ; 
they  sold  them,  and  in  a  little  time  they  had 
riches  in  plenty. 

For  some  months  Jack  and  his  mother  lived 
very  happily;  but  he  longed  to  pay  another  visit 
to  the  giant.  He  remembered  the  fairy's  com- 
mands, and  feared  that  if  he  delayed  to  attend  to 
them,  he  should  suffer  for  it.  Therefore  he  dis- 
guised himself,  and  stained  his  skin,  so  that  he 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  73 

felt  sure  no  one  would  know  him.  Early  in  the 
morning  he  again  climbed  the  beanstalk,  and 
reached  the  giant's  house  late  in  the  evening. 
The  woman  was  at  the  door  as  before.  Jack  told 
her  a  pitiful  tale  and  prayed  for  a  night's  lodging. 

She  told  him  that  she  had  one  night  let  in  a  poor 
hungry  boy,  that  he  had  stolen  one  of  the  giant's 
most  precious  treasures,  and  that  ever  since  her 
husband  had  used  her  cruelly.  At  Jack's  earnest 
wish,  however,  she  took  him  into  the  kitchen,  gave 
him  some  supper,  and  hid  him  in  a  lumber  closet. 

Soon  after,  the  giant  came  back,  walking  so 
heavily  as  to  make  the  house  shake.  He  seated 
himself  by  the  brisk  fire,  saying,  with  a  savage 
look,  "  I  smell  fresh  meat." 

The  wife  answered  that  it  was  owing  to  the 
crows,  having  brought  a  piece  of  meat  and  dropped 
it  on  the  roof  of  the  house. 

While  supper  was  preparing,  the  giant  was  very 
ill-tempered,  and  was  also  continually  upbraiding 
his  wife  with  the  loss  of  his  wonderful  hen.  At 
last,  after  finishing  his  supper,  he  cried:  — 

"  Bring  me  something  to  amuse  me  —  my  harp 
or  my  money-bags." 

"  Which  will  you  have,  my  dear  ?  "  said  his  wife, 
humbly. 


74  JACK  AND    THE  BEANSTALK. 

"  My  money-bags,"  thundered  he,  "  because  they 
are  heavier  to  carry." 

Jack  peeped  out  of  his  hiding-place,  and  saw 
the  woman  bringing  into  the  room  two  bags  of 
immense  size,  filled  with  gold  and  silver.  They 
were  both  placed  before  the  giant,  who  scolded  bis 
wife  because  she  had  been  slow.  The  poor  woman 
answered,  trembling  with  fear,  that  they  were  bo 
heavy  she  could  hardly  lift  them,  and  that  she 
had  nearly  fainted  under  their  weight.  At  this 
the  giant  grew  so  angry  that  he  raised  his  hand 
to  strike  her;  but  she  escaped  the  blow  and  went 
to  bed,  leaving  him  to  count  his  treasure. 

The  giant  first  emptied  one  bag,  which  had  in 
it  silver  pieces ;  and,  after  counting  them  over  and 
over  again,  he  put  them  carefully  back  in  the 
bag.  He  then  opened  the  other  bag,  and  placed 
the  gold  coins  on  the  table.  Jack  got  very  eager 
when  he  saw  so  much  gold ;  but  he  was  afraid 
to  move  lest  the  giant  should  find  him.  The 
giant  put  the  gold  into  its  bag  even  more  care- 
fully than  he  had  put  the  silver. 

He  then  fell  asleep,  and  his  snoring  was  like 
the  roaring  of  the  sea. 

Jack  stole  out  of  his  hiding-place,  went  near  the 
giant,  and  laid  his  hand  upon  one  of  the  bags, 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  75 

when  a  little  dog  started  from  under  the  giant's 
chair  and  barked  furiously.  Jack  gave  himself  up 
for  lost :  fear  so  held  him  to  the  spot  that,  instead 
of  running  away,  he  stood  quite  still,  although 
expecting  his  big  enemy  to  awake  every  minute. 
The  giant  slept  on,  however,  and  the  dog  got 
weary  of  barking. 

Jack  then  looked  round,  and  seeing  a  large 
piece  of  meat,  he  threw  it  to  the  dog,  who  took 
it  into  a  closet.  Being  thus  freed  from  a  noisy 
enemy,  he  seized  the  bags  and  reached  the  outer 
door  in  safety ;  but  the  bags  were  so  heavy,  that 
it  took  him  two  whole  days  to  get  to  the  bottom 
of  the  beanstalk. 

When  Jack  got  to  his  mother's  cottage,  he  found 
it  quite  empty.  Greatly  surprised,  he  ran  into  the 
village,  and  an  old  woman  directed  him  to  a 
house  where  he  found  his  poor  mother  ill  of  a 
fever.  He  was  much  disturbed  to  find  her  appar- 
ently dying,  and  could  hardly  bear  the  thought 
that  he  alone  had  been  the  cause  of  her  illness. 

On  hearing  of  Jack's  return,  however,  his  mother 
by  degrees  revived,  and  gradually  got  well.  Jack 
made  her  a  present  of  his  two  valuable  bags ;  the 
cottage  was  again  well  furnished,  and  he  and  his 
mother  lived  happily  and  comfortably  together. 


76  JACK  AND   THE  BEANSTALK. 

For  three  years  Jack  had  not  mounted  the 
beanstalk,  but  still  he  could  not  forget  it,  though 
he  feared  making  his  mother  imhappy ;  and  she 
would  never  speak  about  the  hated  beanstalk  lest 
it  should  lead  him  to  take  another  journey.  The 
very  sight  of  it  was  a  grief  to  her,  but  she  knew 
not  how  to  get  rid  of  it. 

Notwithstanding  the  comforts  which  Jack  had  at 
home,  his  mind  kept  upon  the  beanstalk,  and  upon 
the  fairy's  warning  to  him  in  case  of  his  disobedience. 
He  could  not  think  of  anything  else ;  it  was  in  vain 
he  tried  to  amuse  himself:  he  became  thoughtful, 
and  would  arise  at  the  dawn  of  day,  and  sit  and  look 
at  the  beanstalk  for  hours  together. 

His  mother  found  that  something  preyed  upon 
his  mind,  and  tried  to  find  the  cause ;  but  Jack 
knew  too  well  what  the  consequence  would  be  if  he 
should  tell  her  the  cause  of  his  grief.  He  did  his 
utmost,  therefore,  to  conquer  the  great  wish  he  felt 
for  another  journey  up  the  beanstalk. 

Finding,  however,  that  his  wish  grew  more  and 
more  upon  him,  he  began  to  make  secret  prepara- 
tions for  his  journey;  and,  on  the  longest  day  of 
the  year,  he  rose  as  soon  as  it  was  light,  went  up  the 
beanstalk,  and  reached  the  top  with  some  trouble. 

He  found  everything  the  same  as  in  former  times. 


THE  HE  AST  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  77 

He  caine  to  the  giant's  house  in  the  evening,  and 
found  his  wife  standing  as  usual  at  the  door.  Jack 
now  seemed  so  different  that  she  did  not  have  any 
recollection  of  him ;  when  he  begged  to  be  let  in, 
however,  he  found  it  very  difficult  to  persuade  her. 
At  last  he  gained  his  wish,  got  into  the  kitchen,  and 
concealed  himself  in  the  copper. 

When  the  giant  came  back  in  the  evening  he 
said,  as  usual,  very  fiercely,  "  Wife !  wife !  I  smell 
fresh  meat ! " 

But  Jack  felt  quite  composed,  as  he  had  so  soon 
been  satisfied  on  the  former  occasions ;  but  this  time 
the  giant  started  up  suddenly,  and  notwithstanding 
all  his  wife  could  say,  he  searched  round  the  room. 
While  this  was  going  on,  Jack  was  ready  to  die  with 
fear,  wishing  himself  at  home  a  thousand  times ;  and 
when  the  giant  came  near  the  copper,  and  put  bis 
hand  upon  the  lid,  Jack  thought  his  death  was 
certain.  Luckily  the  giant  ended  his  search  there 
without  moving  the  lid,  and  seated  himself  quietly 
by  the  fireplace. 

The  fright  nearly  overcame  poor  Jack ;  he  was 
afraid  of  moving,  or  even  of  breathing,  lest  he  should 
be  heard. 

The  giant  ate  a  great  supper,  and  when  he  had 
ended,  he  commanded  his  wife  to  fetch  down  his 


78  JACK  AND   THE  BEANSTALK. 

harp.  Jack  peeped  out  from  under  the  copper  lid, 
and  saw  her  bring  in  the  most  beautiful  harp  that 
one  could  imagine.  The  giant  put  it  upon  the  table. 

"  Play ! "  he  roared,  and  it  instantly  played  of  its 
own  accord  without  being  touched.  The  music  was 
so  fine  that  Jack  felt  more  anxious  to  get  the  harp 
than  either  of  the  former  treasures.  The  giant  was 
soon  lulled  into  a  sound  sleep.  Now,  therefore,  waa 
the  time  to  carry  off  the  harp,  for  the  giant  seemed 
to  be  in  a  deeper  sleep  than  usual. 

Jack  soon  made  up  his  mind,  got  out  of  the 
copper,  and  seized  the  harp,  which,  however,  being 
enchanted  by  some  fairy,  called  out  loudly,  "  Master  1 
master !  master !  " 

The  giant  awoke  straightway,  started  up,  and 
tried  to  run  after  Jack,  but  he  had  eaten  and  drunk 
so  much  that  he  could  not  stand. 

"  Oh  you  villain !  "  called  out  the  giant  in  a  voice 
like  thunder,  "  it  is  you  who  have  robbed  me  of  my 
hen  and  my  money-bags,  and  now  you  are  stealing 
my  harp,  also.  Wait  till  I  catch  you,  and  I'll  eat 
you  up  alive  ! " 

"  Very  well ;  try ! "  shouted  Jack,  who  was  not 
a  bit  afraid,  for  he  saw  that  the  giant  could  hardly 
stand,  much  less  run.  Jack  soon  reached  the  top 
of  the  beanstalk,  and  then  scrambled  down  it  as 


THE  HEAET  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  79 

fast  as  he  could,  the  harp  playing  all  the  while  the 
most  melancholy  music,  till  he  said  "  Stop  !  "  and  it 
stopped. 

The  moment  Jack  got  down  the  beanstalk,  he 
Called  out  for  a  hatchet;  one  was  brought  him 
directly.  Just  at  that  instant  the  giant  began  to 
come  down.  Jack  with  his  hatchet  cut  the  bean- 
stalk close  off  at  the  root,  and  the  giant  fell  to  the 
bottom,  the  fall  instantly  killing  him.  Jack's  mother 
was  very  glad  when  she  saw  the  beanstalk  destroyed. 

At  the  same  instant,  the  fairy  appeared,  and, 
addressing  Jack's  mother,  told  her  all  that  had  led 
Jack  to  take  the  journeys  up  the  beanstalk.  Jack 
was  now  fully  cleared  in  the  opinion  of  his  mother ; 
and  the  fairy  then  charged  him  to  be  dutiful  and 
affectionate  to  her,  and  to  follow  his  father's  good 
example,  which  was  the  only  way  to  be  respected 
and  happy.  She  then  disappeared. 

Jack  heartily  begged  his  mother's  pardon  for  all 
the  sorrow  he  had  caused  her,  and  promised  to  be 
dutiful  and  obedient  to  her  in  the  future.  He 
proved  as  good  as  his  word,  and  became  a  pattern 
of  affectionate  behavior  and  attention  to  his  parent. 
His  mother  and  he  lived  together  a  great  many  years, 
and  were  ever  happy  and  esteemed  by  all  who  knew 
them. 


80  JACK  AND   THE  BEANSTALK. 


THE  STORY  OF  JACK  AND  THE  BEANSTALK. 
TOLD  IN  PICTURES. 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.          81 


THE  STORY  OF  JACK  AND  THE  BEANSTALK. 
TOLD  IN  PICTURES. 


82         CINDERELLA,   OR  THE  LITTLE  GLASS  SLIPPER. 


CINDERELLA,  OR  THE  LITTLE  GLASS  SLIPPER. 

Once  there  was  a  gentleman  who  married,  for  his 
second  wife,  the  proudest  and  most  haughty  woman 
that  was  ever  seen.  She  had  by  a  former  husband, 
two  daughters  of  her  own  humor,  who  were,  indeed, 
exactly  like  her  in  all  things. 

He  had,  likewise,  by  another  wife,  a  young  daugh- 
ter, but  of  unparalleled  goodness  and  sweetness  of 
temper,  which  she  took  from  her  mother,  who  was 
the  best  creature  in  the  world. 

No  sooner  were  the  ceremonies  of  the  wedding 
over  but  the  step-mother  began  to  show  herself  in 
her  colors.  She  could  not  bear  the  good  qualities  of 
this  pretty  girl ;  and  the  less,  because  they  made  her 
own  daughters  appear  the  more  odious. 

She  employed  her  in  the  meanest  work  of  the 
house ;  she  scoured  the  dishes,  tables,  and  cleaned 
madam's  room  and  the  rooms  of  misses,  her  daugh- 
ters ;  she  lay  up  in  a  sorry  garret,  upon  a  wretched 
straw  bed,  while  her  sisters  lay  in  fine  rooms,  with 
floors  all  inlaid,  upon  beds  of  the  very  newest  fash- 
ion, and  where  they  had  looking-glasses  so  large,  that 
they  might  see  themselves  at  their  full  length,  from 
head  to  foot. 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  83 

The  poor  girl  bore  all  patiently,  and  dare  not  tell 
her  father,  who  would  have  rattled  her  off,  for  his 
wife  governed  him  entirely.  When  she  had  done  her 
work,  she  used  to  go  into  the  chimney-corner,  and  sit 
down  among  cinders  and  ashes,  which  made  her 
commonly  called  Cinder-wench;  but  the  youngest, 
who  was  not  so  rude  and  uncivil  as  the  eldest,  called 
her  Cinderella. 

However,  Cinderella,  notwithstanding  her  mean 
apparel,  was  a  hundred  times  handsomer  than  her 
sisters,  though  they  were  always  dressed  very  richly. 

It  happened  that  the  king's  son  gave  a  ball,  and 
invited  all  persons  of  fashion  to  it.  Our  young 
misses  were  also  invited,  for  they  cut  a  very  grand 
figure  among  the  quality.  They  were  mightily 
delighted  at  this  invitation,  and  wonderfully  busy  in 
choosing  out  such  gowns,  petticoats,  and  head-clothes 
as  might  best  become  them.  This  was  a  new  trouble 
to  Cinderella ;  for  it  was  she  who  ironed  her  sister's 
linen,  and  plaited  their  ruffles ;  they  talked  all  day 
long  of  nothing  but  how  they  should  be  dressed. 

"  For  my  part,"  said  the  eldest,  "  I  will  wear  my 
red  velvet  suit  with  French  trimmings." 

"And  I,"  said  the  youngest,  "shall  only  have  my 
usual  petticoat;  but  then,  to  make  amends  for  that, 
I  will  put  on  my  gold  flowered  manteau,  and  my 


84         CINDERELLA,  OR  THE  LITTLE  GLASS  SLIPPER. 

diamond  stomacher,  which  is  far  from  being  the  most 
ordinary  one  in  the  world." 

They  sent  for  the  best  tire-woman  they  could  get, 
to  make  up  their  head-dresses,  and  they  had  their 
patches  from  the  very  best  maker. 

Cinderella  was  likewise  called  up  to  them  to  be  con- 
sulted in  all  these .  matters,  for  she  had  excellent 
notions,  and  advised  them  always  for  the  best ;  nay, 
and  offered  her  service  to  dress  their  heads,  which 
they  were  very  willing  she  should  do.  As  she  was 
doing  this  they  said  to  her  :  — 

"  Cinderella,  would  you  not  be  glad  to  go  to  the 
ball?" 

"Ah!"  said  she,  "you  only  jeer  at  me;  it  is  not 
for  such  as  I  am  to  go  thither." 

"  Thou  art  in  the  right  of  it,"  replied  they ;  "  it 
would  make  the  people  laugh  to  see  a  cinder-wench 
at  a  ball." 

Any  one  but  Cinderella  would  have  dressed  their 
heads  awry,  but  she  was  very  good,  and  dressed  them 
perfectly  well.  They  were  almost  two  days  without 
eating,  so  much  they  were  transported  with  joy. 
They  broke  above  a  dozen  of  lace's  in  trying  to  be 
laced  up  close,  that  they  might  have  a  fine  slender 
shape,  and  they  were  continually  at  their  looking- 
glass. 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.          85 

At  last  the  happy  day  came ;  they  went  to  court, 
and  Cinderella  followed  them  with  her  eyes  as  long 
as  she  could,  and  when  she  had  lost  sight  of  them, 
she  fell  a-crying. 

Her  godmother,  who  saw  her  all  in  tears,  asked 
her  what  was  the  matter. 

"I  wish  I  could  —  I  wish  I  could  — ;"  she  was 
not  able  to  speak  the  rest,  being  interrupted  by  her 
tears  and  sobbing. 

This  godmother  of  hers,  who  was  a  fairy,  said  to 
her :  — 

"  Thou  wishest  thou  couldest  go  to  the  ball,  is  it 
not  so?" 

"  Y — es,"  cried  Cinderella  with  a  great  sigh. 

"  Well,"  said  her  godmother,  "  be  but  a  good  girl, 
and  I  will  contrive  that  thou  shalt  go." 

Then  she  took  her  into  her  chamber  and  said 
to  her,  "  Run  into  the  garden,  and  bring  me  a 
pumpkin."  > 

Cinderella  went  immediately  to  gather  the  finest 
she  could  get,  and  brought  it  to  her  godmother,  not 
being  able  to  imagine  how  this  pumpkin  could  make 
her  go  to  the  ball. 

Her  godmother  scooped  out  all  the  inside  of  it, 
having  left  nothing  but  the  rind ;  which  done,  she 
struck  it  with  her  wand,  and  the  pumpkin  was  in* 


86         CINDERELLA,  OB  THE  LITTLE  GLASS  SLIPPER. 

stantly  turned  into  a  fine  coach,  gilded  all  over  with 
gold. 

She  then  went  to  look  into  her  mouse-trap,  where 
she  found  six  mice,  all  alive,  and  ordered  Cinderella 
to  lift  up  a  little  the  trap-door,  when  giving  each 
mouse,  as  it  went  out,  a  little  tap  with  her  wand,  the 
mouse  was  that  moment  turned  into  a  fair  horse, 
which  all  together  made  a  very  fine  set  of  six  horses 
of  a  beautiful  mouse-colored  dapple-gray. 

Being  at  a  loss  for  a  coachman,  "  I  will  go  and 
see,"  says  Cinderella,  "  if  there  be  never  a  rat  in 
the  rat-trap,  that  we  may  make  a  coachman  of 
him." 

"  Thou  art  in  the  right,"  replied  her  godmother. 
"  go  and  look." 

Cinderella  brought  the  trap  to  her,  and  in  it 
there  were  three  huge  rats.  The  fairy  made  choice 
of  one  of  the  three,  which  had  the  largest  beard, 
and,  having  touched  him  with  Jier  wand,  he  was 
turned  into  a  fat,  jolly  coachman,  who  had  the 
smartest  whiskers  eyes  ever  beheld. 

After  that,  she  said  to  her,  "  Go  again  into  the 
garden,  and  you  will  find  six  lizards  behind  the 
watering  pot ;  bring  them  to  me." 

She  had  no  sooner  done  so,  than  her  godmother 
turned  them  into  six  footmen,  who  skipped  up  im- 


THE  HEAET  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  87 

mediately  behind  the  coach,  with  their  liveries  all 
bedecked  with  gold  and  silver,  and  clung  as  close 
behind  each  other,  as  if  they  had  done  nothing  else 
their  whole  lives.  The  fairy  then  said  to  Cin- 
derella :  — 

"  Well,  you  see  here  an  equipage  fit  to  go  to  the 
ball  with;  are  you  not  pleased  with  it?" 

"  0,  yes,"  cried  she,  "  but  must  I  go  thither  as 
I  am,  in  these  filthy  rags?" 

Her  godmother  only  just  touched  her  with  her 
wand,  and,  at  the  same  instant,  her  clothes  were 
turned  into  cloth  of  gold  and  silver,  all  beset  with 
jewels.  This  done,  she  gave  her  a  pair  of  glass 
slippers,  the  prettiest  in  the  whole  world. 

Being  thus  decked  out,  she  got  up  into  her  coach ; 
but  her  godmother,  above  all  things,  commanded 
her  not  to  stay  till  after  midnight,  telling  her,  at 
the  same  time,  that  if  she  stayed  at  the  ball  one 
moment  longer,  her  coach  would  be  a  pumpkin 
again,  her  horses  mice,  her  coachman  a  rat,  her 
footmen  lizards,  and  her  clothes  become  just  as 
they  were  before. 

She  promised  her  godmother  she  would  not  fail 
of  leaving  the  ball  before  midnight ;  and  then 
away  she  drives,  scarce  able  to  contain  herself 
for  joy. 


88         CINDERELLA,   OR  THE  LITTLE  GLASS  SLIPPER. 

The  king's  son,  who  was  told  that  a  great  prin- 
cess, whom  nobody  knew,  was  come,  ran  out  to 
receive  her;  he  gave  her  his  hand  as  she  alighted 
from  the  coach,  and  led  her  into  the  hall  among 
all  the  company.  There  was  immediately  a  pro- 
found silence,  they  left  off  dancing,  and  the  violins 
ceased  to  play,  so  attentive  was  every  one  to  con- 
template the  singular  beauties  of  this  unknown 
new-comer.  Nothing  was  then  heard  but  a  con- 
fused noise  of,  "  Ha !  how  handsome  she  is !  Ha ! 
how  handsome  she  is  !  " 

The  king  himself,  old  as  he  was,  could  not  help 
ogling  her  and  telling  the  queen  softly  that  it  was 
a  long  tune  since  he  had  seen  so  beautiful  and 
lovely  a  creature. 

All  the  ladies  were  busied  in  considering  her 
clothes  and  head-dress,  that  they  might  have  some 
made  next  day  after  the  same  pattern,  provided 
they  could  meet  with  such  fine  materials  and  as 
able  hands  to  make  them. 

The  king's  son  conducted  her  to  the  most  hon- 
orable seat,  and  afterwards  took  her  out  to  dance 
with  him.  She  danced  so  very  gracefully  that  they 
all  more  and  more  admired  her. 

A  fine  collation  was  served  up,  whereof  the  young 
prince  ate  not  a  morsel,  so  intently  was  he  busied 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  89 

in  gazing  on  her.  She  went  and  sat  down  by  her 
sisters,  showing  them  a  thousand  civilities,  giving 
them  part  of  the  oranges  and  citrons  which  the 
prince  had  presented  her  with ;  which  very  much 
surprised  them,  for  they  did  not  know  her. 

While  Cinderella  was  thus  amusing  her  sisters, 
she  heard  the  clock  strike  eleven  and  three  quar- 
ters, whereupon  she  immediately  made  a  courtesy 
to  the  company,  and  hasted  away  as  fast  as  she 
could. 

Being  got  home,  she  ran  to  seek  out  her  god- 
mother; and  after  having  thanked  her,  she  said 
she  could  not  but  heartily  wish  she  might  go  next 
day  to  the  ball,  because  the  king's  son  had  desired 
her.  As  she  was  eagerly  telling  her  godmother 
whatever  had  passed  at  the  ball,  her  two  sisters 
knocked  at  the  door,  which  Cinderella  ran  and 
opened. 

"  How  long  you  have  stayed  !  "  cried  she,  gaping, 
rubbing  her  eyes,  and  stretching  herself  as  if  she 
had  been  just  awaked  out  of  her  sleep ;  she  had 
not,  however,  any  manner  of  inclination  to  sleep 
since  they  went  from  home. 

"  If  thou  hadst  been  at  the  ball,"  says  one  of  her 
sisters,  "  thou  wouldest  not  have  been  tired  with  it. 
There  came  thither  the  finest  princess,  the  most 


90         CINDERELLA,  OB  THE  LITTLE  GLASS  SLIPPER. 

beautiful  ever  seen  with  mortal  eyes;  she  showed 
us  a  thousand  civilities,  and  gave  us  oranges  and 
citrons."  Cinderella  seemed  very  indifferent  in  the 
matter;  indeed,  she  asked  them  the  name  of  the 
princess,  but  they  told  her  they  did  not  know  it, 
and  that  the  king's  son  was  very  uneasy  on  her 
account,  and  would  give  all  the  world  to  know 
who  she  was. 

At  this  Cinderella,  smiling,  replied,  "  She  must 
then  be  very  beautiful  indeed !  How  happy  have 
you  been !  Could  not  I  see  her  ?  Ah !  dear  Miss 
Charlotte,  do  lend  me  your  yellow  suit  of  clothes, 
which  you  wear  every  day." 

"  Ay,  to  be  sure,"  cried  Miss  Charlotte,  "  lend  my 
clothes  to  such  a  dirty  cinder-wench  as  thou  art! 
Who's  the  fool  then?" 

Cinderella,  indeed,  expected  some  such  answer, 
and  was  very  glad  of  the  refusal;  for  she  would 
have  been  sadly  put  to  it,  if  her  sister  had  lent  her 
what  she  asked  for  jestingly. 

The  next  day  the  two  sisters  were  at  the  ball, 
and  so  was  Cinderella,  but  dressed  more  magnifi- 
cently than  before. 

The  king's  son  was  always  by  her  side,  and 
never  ceased  his  compliments  and  amorous  speeches 
to  her;  to  whom  all  this  was  so  far  from  being 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  91 

tiresome  that  she  quite  forgot  what  her  godmother 
had  recommended  to  her,  so  that  she  at  last 
counted  the  clock  striking  twelve  when  she  took 
it  to  be  no  more  than  eleven ;  she  then  rose  up, 
and  fled  as  nimble  as  a  deer. 

The  prince  followed,  but  could  not  overtake  her. 
She  left  behind  one  of  her  glass  slippers,  which  the 
prince  took  up  most  carefully.  She  got  home,  but 
quite  out  of  breath,  without  coach  or  footmen,  and 
in  her  old  cinder  clothes,  having  nothing  left  of 
all  her  finery  but  one  of  the  little  slippers,  fellow 
to  that  she  dropped. 

The  guards  at  the  palace  gate  were  asked  if 
they  had  not  seen  a  princess  go  out.  They  said 
they  had  seen  nobody  go  out  but  a  young  girl, 
very  meanly  dressed,  and  who  had  more  the  air 
of  a  poor  country  wench  than  a  gentlewoman. 

When  the  two  sisters  returned  from  the  ball, 
Cinderella  asked  them  if  they  had  been  well 
diverted,  and  if  the  fine  lady  had  been  there. 

They  told  her  yes,  but  that  she  hurried  away 
immediately  when  it  struck  twelve,  and  with  so 
much  haste  that  she  dropped  one  of  her  little 
glass  slippers,  the  prettiest  in  the  world,  which 
the  king's  son  had  taken  up ;  that  he  had  done 
nothing  but  look  at  her  all  the  time  of  the  ball, 


92         CINDERELLA,  OR  THE  LITTLE  GLASS  SLIPPER. 

and  that  most  certainly  he  was  very  much  in  love 
with  the  beautiful  person  who  owned  the  little 
slipper. 

What  they  said  was  very  true  ;  for  a  few  days 
after,  the  king's  son  caused  to  be  proclaimed  by 
sound  of  trumpets  that  he  would  marry  her  whose 
foot  this  slipper  would  just  fit. 

They  whom  he  employed  began  to  try  it  on 
upon  the  princesses,  then  the  duchesses,  and  all 
the  court,  but  in  vain ;  it  was  brought  to  the 
two  sisters,  who  did  all  they  possibly  could  to 
thrust  their  foot  into  the  slipper,  but  they  could 
not  effect  it. 

Cinderella,  who  saw  all  this,  and  knew  her  slip- 
per, said  to  them,  laughing,  "  Let  me  see  if  it  will 
not  fit  me !  " 

Her  sisters  burst  out  laughing,  and  began  to 
banter  her. 

The  gentleman  who  was  sent  to  try  the  slipper 
looked  earnestly  at  Cinderella,  and  finding  her  very 
handsome,  said  it  was  but  just  that  she  should  try, 
and  that  he  had  orders  to  let  every  one  make 
trial.  He  obliged  Cinderella  to  sit  down,  and  put- 
ting the  slipper  to  her  foot,  he  found  it  went  in 
very  easily,  and  fitted  her  as  if  it  had  been  made 
of  wax. 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  93 

The  astonishment  her  two  sisters  were  in  was 
excessively  great,  but  still  abundantly  greater,  when 
Cinderella  pulled  out  of  her  pocket  the  other  slip- 
per and  put  it  on  her  foot. 

Thereupon,  in  came  her  godmother,  who  having 
touched,  with  her  wand,  Cinderella's  clothes,  made 
them  richer  and  more  magnificent  than  any  of 
those  she  had  before. 

And  now  her  two  sisters  found  her  to  be  that 
fine  beautiful  lady  whom  they  had  seen  at  the  ball. 
They  threw  themselves  at  her  feet,  to  beg  pardon 
for  all  the  ill  treatment  they  had  made  her  undergo. 
Cinderella  took  them  up,  and  as  she  embraced  them, 
cried  that  she  forgave  them  with  all  her  heart,  and 
desired  them  always  to  love  her.  She  was  con- 
ducted to  the  young  prince,  dressed  as  she  was. 
He  thought  her  more  charming  than  ever,  and  a 
few  days  after,  married  her. 


HUMILITY. 

The  bird  that  soars  on  highest  wing 
Builds  on  the  ground  her  lowly  nest; 

And  she  that  doth  most  sweetly  sing, 
Sings  in  the  shade  when  all  things  rest: 

In  lark  and  nightingale  we  see 
What  honor  hath  humility. 


94       CINDERELLA,    OK    THE  LITTLE   GLASS  SLIPPER. 


THE  STORY  or  CINDERELLA. 
TOLD  IN  PICTURES. 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS. 


95 


THE  STORY  OF  CINDERELLA. 
TOLD  IN  PICTURES. 


96      THE  SLEEPING  BEAUTY  IN  THE  WOOD. 

ON  THE   VOWELS. 

Jonathan  Swift. 

We  are  little  airy  creatures, 
All  of  different  voice  and  features ; 
One  of  us  in  glass  is  set, 
One  of  us  you'll  find  in  jet. 
T'other  you  may  see  in  tin, 
And  the  fourth  a  box  within. 
If  the  fifth  you  should  pursue, 
It  can  never  fly  from  you. 


THE  SLEEPING  BEAUTY  IN  THE   WOOD. 

There  were  formerly  a  king  and  a  queen,  who 
were  so  sorry  that  they  had  no  children,  so  sorry 
that  it  cannot  be  expressed. 

At  last,  however,  a  daughter  was  born  to  them. 
There  was  a  very  fine  christening ;  and  the  princess 
had  for  her  godmothers  all  the  fairies  they  could 
find  in  the  whole  kingdom  (they  found  seven),  that 
every  one  of  them  might  give  her  a  gift,  as  was  the 
custom  of  fairies  in  those  days.  By  this  means  the 
princess  had  all  the  perfections  imaginable. 

After  the  ceremonies  of  the  christening  were  over, 
all  the  company  returned  to  the  king's  palace, 


THE  HE  AST  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  97 

where  was  prepared  a  great  feast  for  the  fairies. 
There  was  placed  before  every  one  of  them  a  mag- 
nificent cover  with  a  case  of  massive  gold,  wherein 
were  a  spoon,  knife,  and  fork,  all  of  pure  gold  set 
with  diamonds  and  rubies. 

But  as  they  were  all  sitting  down  at  table,  they 
saw  come  into  the  hall  a  very  old  fairy  whom  they 
had  not  invited,  because  it  was  above  fifty  years 
since  she  had  been  out  of  a  certain  tower,  and  she 
was  believed  to  be  either  dead  or  enchanted.  The 
king  ordered  her  a  cover,  but  could  not  furnish  her 
with  a  case  of  gold  as  the  others,  because  they  had 
seven  only  made  for  the  seven  fairies.  The  old  fairy 
fancied  she  was  slighted,  and  muttered  some  threat 
between  her  teeth. 

One  of  the  young  fairies,  who  sat  by  her,  over- 
heard how  she  grumbled ;  and  judging  that  she 
might  give  the  little  princess  some  unlucky  gift, 
went,  as  soon  as  they  rose  from  table,  and  hid  her- 
self behind  the  hangings,  that  she  might  speak  last, 
and  repair,  as  much  as  possible  she  could,  the  evil 
which  the  old  fairy  might  intend. 

In  the  meanwhile  all  the  fairies  began  to  give 
their  gifts  to  the  princess.  The  youngest  gave  her 
for  gift,  that  she  should  be  the  most  beautiful  per- 
son in  the  world;  the  next,  that  she  should  have 


98  THE  SLEEPING  BEAUTY  IN  THE   WOOD. 

the  wit  of  an  angel ;  the  third,  that  she  should  have 
a  wonderful  grace  in  everything  she  did ;  the  fourth, 
that  she  should  dance  perfectly  well ;  the  fifth,  that 
she  should  sing  like  a  nightingale ;  and  the  sixth, 
that  she  should  play  upon  all  kinds  of  music  to  the 
utmost  perfection. 

The  old  fairy's  turn  coming  next,  with  a  head 
shaking  more  with  spite  than  age,  she  said  that  the 
princess  should  have  her  hand  pierced  with  a  spindle 
and  die  of  the  wound. 

This  terrible  gift  made  the  whole  company  trem- 
ble, and  everybody  fell  a~crying.  At  this  very 
instant  the  young  fairy  came  out  from  behind  the 
hangings,  and  spake  these  words  aloud :  — 

"  Assure  yourselves,  0  king  and  queen,  that  your 
daughter  shall  not  die  of  this  disaster.  It  is  true, 
I  have  no  power  to  undo  entirely  what  my  elder  has 
done.  The  princess  shall,  indeed,  pierce  her  hand 
with  a  spindle ;  but  instead  of  dying,  she  shall  only 
fall  into  a  profound  sleep,  which  shall  last  a  hundred 
years ;  at  the  expiration  of  which  a  king's  son  shall 
come  and  awake  her." 

The  king,  to  avoid  the  misfortune  foretold  by  the 
old  fairy,  caused  immediately  proclamations  to  be 
made,  whereby  everybody  was  forbidden,  on  pain  of 
death,  to  spin  with  a  distaff  and  spindle,  or  to  have 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  99 

so  much  as  any  spindle  in  the  house.  About  fifteen 
or  sixteen  years  after,  the  king  and  queen  being 
gone  to  one  of  their  houses  of  pleasure,  the  young 
princess  happened  one  day  to  divert  herself  in  run- 
ning up  and  down  the  palace ;  when  going  from  one 
apartment  to  another,  she  came  into  a  little  room 
on  the  top  of  a  tower,  where  a  good  old  woman, 
alone,  was  spinning  with  her  spindle.  This  good 
woman  had  never  heard  of  the  king's  proclamation 
against  spindles. 

"What  are  you  doing  there,  goody?"  said  the 
princess. 

"  I  am  spinning,  my  pretty  child,"  said  the  old 
woman,  who  did  not  know  who  she  was. 

"Ha!"  said  the  princess,  "this  is  very  pretty; 
how  do  you  do  it  ?  Give  it  to  me  that  I  may  see  if 
I  can  do  so." 

She  had  no  sooner  taken  it  into  her  hand,  than, 
whether  being  very  hasty  at  it,  somewhat  unhandy, 
or  that  the  decree  of  the  fairy  had  so  ordained  it,  it 
ran  into  her  hand  and  she  fell  down  in  a  swoon. 

The  good  old  woman,  not  knowing  very  well  what 
to  do  in  this  affair,  cried  out  for  help.  People  came 
in  from  every  quarter  in  great  numbers ;  they  threw 
water  upon  the  princess's  face,  unlaced  her,  struck 
her  on  the  palms  of  her  hands,  and  rubbed  her 


100  THE  SLEEPING  BEAUTY  JN  THE   WOOD. 

temples  with  cologne  water;  but  nothing  would 
bring  her  to  herself. 

And  now  the  king,  who  came  up  at  the  noise, 
bethought  himself  of  the  prediction  of  the  fairies, 
and  judging  very  well  that  this  must  necessarily 
come  to  pass,  since  the  fairies  had  said  it,  caused 
the  princess  to  be  carried  into  the  finest  apartment 
in  his  palace,  and  to  be  laid  upon  a  bed  all  em- 
broidered with  gold  and  silver. 

One  would  have  taken  her  for  a  little  angel,  she 
was  so  very  beautiful ;  for  her  swooning  away  had 
not  diminished  one  bit  of  her  complexion;  her 
cheeks  were  carnation,  and  her  lips  like  coral :, 
indeed,  her  eyes  were  shut,  but  she  was  heard  to 
breathe  softly,  which  satisfied  those  about  her  that 
she  was  not  dead.  The  king  commanded  that  they 
should  not  disturb  her,  but  let  her  sleep  quietly  till 
her  hour  of  awakening  was  come. 

The  good  fairy,  who  had  saved  her  life  by  con- 
demning her  to  sleep  a  hundred  years,  was  in  the 
kingdom  of  Matakin,  twelve  thousand  leagues  off, 
when  this  accident  befell  the  princess;  but  she  was 
instantly  informed  of  it  by  a  little  dwarf,  who  had 
boots  of  seven  leagues,  that  is,  boots  with  which 
he  could  tread  over  seven  leagues  of  ground  at 
one  stride. 


THE  HEAET  OF  OAR  BOOKS.         101 

The  fairy  came  away  immediately,  and  she  arrived 
about  an  hour  after,  in  a  fiery  chariot  drawn  by 
dragons.  The  king  handed  her  out  of  the  chariot, 
and  she  approved  everything  he  had  done;  but,  as 
she  had  a  very  great  foresight,  she  thought,  when 
the  princess  should  awake,  she  might  not  know 
what  to  do  with  herself,  being  all  alone  in  this  old 
palace ;  and  this  was  what  she  did :  she  touched 
with  her  wand  everything  in  the  palace  (except 
the  king  and  the  queen),  governesses,  maids  of 
honor,  ladies  of  the  bed-chamber,  gentlemen,  offi- 
cers, stewards,  cooks,  under-cooks,  scullions,  guards, 
pages,  and  footmen;  she  likewise  touched  all  the 
horses  which  were'  in  the  stables,  the  great  dogs  in 
the  outward  court,  and  pretty  little  Mopsey,  too,  the 
princess's  little  spaniel  which  lay  by  her  on  the  bed. 

Immediately  upon  her  touching  them,  they  all 
fell  asleep,  that  they  might  not  awake  before  their 
mistress,  and  that  they  might  be  ready  to  wait 
upon  her  when  she  wanted  them.  The  very  spits 
at  the  fire,  as  full  as  they  could  hold  of  partridges 
and  pheasants,  did  fall  asleep  also.  All  this  was 
done  in  a  moment.  Fairies  arc  not  long  in  doing 
their  business. 

And  now  the  king  and  the  queen,  having  kissed 
their  dear  child  without  waking  her,  went  out  of 


102  THE  SLEEPING  BEAUTY  IN  THE   WOOD. 

the  palace,  and  put  forth  a  proclamation,  that 
nobody  should  dare  to  come  near  it.  This,  how- 
ever, was  not  necessary;  for,  in  a  quarter  of  an 
hour's  time,  there  grew  up,  all  round  about  the 
park,  such  a  vast  number  of  trees,  great  and  small, 
bushes  and  brambles,  twining  one  within  another, 
that  neither  man  nor  beast  could  pass  through;  so 
that  nothing  could  be  seen  but  the  very  top  of  the 
towers  of  the  palace;  and  that,  too,  not  unless  one 
was  a  good  way  off.  Nobody  doubted  but  the  fairy 
gave  herein  a  very  extraordinary  sample  of  her  art, 
that  the  princess  while  she  continued  sleeping  might 
have  nothing  to  fear  from  any  curious  people. 

When  a  hundred  years  were  gone  and  passed, 
the  son  of  the  king  then  reigning,  and  who  was  of 
another  family  from  that  of  the  sleeping  princess, 
being  gone  a-hunting  on  that  side  of  the  country, 
asked  what  those  towers  were  which  he  saw  in  the 
middle  of  a  great  thick  wood. 

Every  one  answered  according  as  they  had  heard : 
some  said  that  it  was  a  ruinous  old  castle,  haunted 
by  spirits ;  others,  that  all  the  sorcerers  and  witches 
of  the  country  kept  there  their  sabbath,  or  night's 
meeting.  The  common  opinion  was  that  an  ogre  l 

1  An  ogre  was  a  giant  with  long  teeth  and  claws,  who  was  said  to 
run  away  with  naughty  little  boys  and  girls. 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.          103 

lived  there,  and  that  he  carried  thither  all  the  little 
children  he  could  catch  without  anybody's  being 
able  to  follow  him,  as  having  himself,  only,  the 
power  to  pass  through  the  wood. 

The  prince  was  at  a  stand,  not  knowing  what  to 
believe,  when  a  very  aged  countryman  spake  to  him 
thus : — 

"  May  it  please  your  royal  highness,  it  is  now 
about  fifty  years  since  I  heard  from  my  father,  who 
heard  my  grandfather  say,  that  there  then  was  in 
this  castle  a  princess,  the  most  beautiful  was  ever 
seen ;  that  she  must  sleep  there  a  hundred  years, 
and  should  be  awaked  by  a  king's  son,  for  whom 
she  was  reserved." 

The  young  prince  was  all  on  fire  at  these  words, 
believing,  without  weighing  the  matter,  that  he 
could  put  an  end  to  this  rare  adventure;  and, 
pushed  on  by  love  and  honor,  he  resolved  that 
moment  to  look  into  it. 

Scarce  had  he  advanced  towards  the  wood,  when 
all  the  great  trees,  the  bushes  and  brambles,  gave 
way  of  themselves  to  let  him  pass  through ;  he 
walked  up  to  the  castle  which  he  saw  at  the  end 
of  a  large  avenue,  which  he  went  into ;  and  what  a 
little  surprised  him,  was  that  he  saw  none  of  his 
people  could  follow  him,  because  the  trees  closed 


104  THE  SLEEPING  BEAUTY  IN   THE   WOOD. 

again  as  soon  as  he  had  passed  through  them. 
However,  he  did  not  cease  from  continuing  his 
way;  a  young  and  amorous  prince  is  always 
valiant. 

He  came  into  a  spacious  outward  court,  where 
everything  he  saw  might  have  frozen  up  the  most 
fearless  person  with  horror.  There  reigned  over 
all  a  most  frightful  silence ;  the  image  of  death 
everywhere  showed  itself,  and  there  was  nothing 
to  be  seen  but  stretched-out  bodies  of  men  and 
animals,  all  seeming  to  be  dead.  He,  however,  very 
well  knew  by  the  ruddy  faces  that  they  were  only 
asleep.  He  then  crossed  a  court  paved  with  marble, 
went  up  the  stairs,  and  came  into  the  guard  cham- 
ber, where  the  guards  were  standing  in  their  ranks, 
with  their  muskets  upon  their  shoulders,  and  snor- 
ing as  loud  as  they  could. 

After  that,  he  went  through  several  rooms  full  of 
gentlemen  and  ladies,  all  asleep,  some  standing, 
others  sitting. 

At  last  he  came  into  a  chamber  all  gilded  with 
gold,  where  he  saw  upon  a  bed,  the  curtains  of 
which  were  all  open,  the  finest  sight  was  ever  be- 
held ;  a  princess,  who  appeared  to  be  about  fifteen 
or  sixteen  years  of  age,  and  whose  bright,  and  in  a 
manner,  respienaent  oeauty,  had  somewhat  in  it 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.          105 

divine.  He  approached  with,  trembling  and  admira- 
tion, and  fell  down  before  her  upon  his  knees. 

And  now,  as  the  enchantment  was  at  an  end, 
the  princess  awaked,  and  looking  on  him  with  eyes 
more  tender  than  the  first  view  might  seem  to  admit 
of:  "Is  it  you,  my  prince,"  said  she  to  him,  "you 
have  waited  a  long  while." 

The  prince,  charmed  with  these  words,  and  much 
more  with  the  manner  in  which  they  were  spoken, 
knew  not  how  to  show  his  joy  and  gratitude;  lie 
assured  her  that  he  loved  her  better  than  he  did 
himself ;  their  discourse  was  not  well  connected, 
they  did  weep  more  than  talk,  little  eloquence,  a 
great  deal  of  love. 

He  was  more  at  a  loss  than  she,  and  we  need 
not  wonder  at  it ;  she  had  time  to  think  on  what 
to  say  to  him,  for  it  is  very  probable  (though 
history  mentions  nothing  of  it)  that  the  good  fairy, 
during  so  long  a  sleep,  had  given  her  very  agree- 
able dreams.  In  short,  they  talked  four  hours 
together,  and  yet  they  said  not  half  what  they  had 
to  say. 

In  the  meanwhile,  all  the  palace  awaked ;  every 
one  thought  upon  his  particular  business,  and  as  all 
of  them  were  not  in  love,  they  were  ready  to  die 
for  hunger ;  the  chief  lady  of  honor,  being  as  sharp 


10G  THE  SLEEPING  BEAUTY  IN   THE   WOOD. 

set  as  other  folks,  grew  very  impatient,  and  told  the 
princess  aloud  that  supper  was  served. 

The  prince  helped  the  princess  to  rise.  She  was 
entirely  dressed,  and  very  magnificently,  but  his 
royal  highness  took  care  not  to  tell  her  that  she 
was  dressed  like  his  great-grandmother,  and  had 
a  point-band  peeping  over  a  high  collar ;  but  she 
looked  not  a  bit  the  less  beautiful  and  charming  for 
all  that. 

They  went  into  the  great  hall  of  looking-glasses, 
where  they  supped,  and  were  served  by  the  princess's 
officers ;  the  violins  and  hautboys  played  old  tunes, 
but  very  excellently,  though  it  was  now  above  a 
hundred  years  since  they  had  played ;  and  after 
supper,  without  losing  any  time,  the  lord  almoner 
married  them  in  the  chapel  of  the  castle,  and  the 
chief  lady  of  honor  acted  as  bridesmaid. 

The  prince  left  her  next  morning  to  return  into 
the  city,  where  his  father  must  needs  have  been  in 
pain  for  him.  He  openly  declared  his  marriage,  and 
went  in  great  ceremony  to  conduct  his  bride  to  the 
palace.  .  .  . 

After  a  few  days  they  went  together  out  of  the 
castle  and  enchanted  wood,  both  of  which  immedi- 
ately disappeared,  and  were  never  more  seen  by  the 
eyes  of  men. 


THE  HEAET  OF  OAK  BOOKS.          107 

They  made  a  magnificent  entry  into  the  capital 
city,  and  in  due  time  the  prince  became  king  and 
the  princess  became  queen,  and  they  ruled  their 
country  long  and  happily. 


THE   VIOLET. 

Jane  Taylor. 

Down  in  a  green  and  shady  bed 

A  modest  violet  grew, 
Its  stalk  was  bent,  it  hung  its  head, 

As  if  to  hide  from  view. 

And  yet  it  was  a  lovely  flower, 
Its  colors  bright  and  fair ! 

It  might  have  graced  a  rosy  bower 
Instead  of  hiding  there. 

Yet  there  it  was  content  to  bloom 

In  modest  tints  arrayed ; 
And  there  diffused  its  sweet  perfume 

Within  the  silent  shade. 

Then  let  me  to  the  valley  go, 

This  pretty  flower  to  see, 
That  I  may  also  learn  to  grow 

In  sweet  humility. 


108  THE  SLEEPING  BEAUTY  IN  THE    WOOD. 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  SLEEPING  BEAUTY. 
TOLD  IN  PICTURES. 


THE  HEART  OF   OAK  BOOKS. 


109 


THE  STORY  OF  THK  SLEEPING  BEAUTY. 
TOLD  IN  PICTURES. 


110  CHOOSING  A   NAME. 

CHOOSING  A  NAME. 

Mary  Lamb. 

I  have  got  a  new-born  sister ; 
I  was  nigh  the  first  that  kissed  her 
When  the  nursing  woman  brought  her 
To  papa,  his  infant  daughter, 
How  papa's  dear  eyes  did  glisten !  — 
•  She  will  shortly  be  to  christen; 
And  papa  has  made  the  offer, 
I  shall  have  the  naming  of  her. 

Now  I  wonder  what  would  please  her, 
Charlotte,  Julia,  or  Louisa. 
Ann  and  Mary,  they're  too  common ; 
Joan's  too  formal  for  a  woman ; 
Jane's  a  prettier  name  beside ; 
But  we  had  a  Jane  that  died. 
They  would  say  if  'twas  Rebecca, 
That  she  was  a  little  Quaker. 
Edith's  pretty,  but  that  looks 
Better  in  old  English  books ; 
Ellen's  left  off  long  ago  ; 
Blanche  is  out  of  fashion  now. 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.          Ill 

None  that  I  have  named  as  yet 

Are  as  good  as  Margaret. 

Emily  is  neat  and  fine, 

What  do  you  think  of  Caroline  ? 

How  I'm  puzzled  and  perplext 

What  to  choose  or  think  of  next ! 

I  am  in  a  little  fever. 

Lest  the  name  that  I  shall  give  her 

Should  disgrace  her  or  defame  her, 

I  will  leave  papa  to  name  her. 


PUSS   IN   BOOTS. 

There  was  once  a  miller  who  left  no  more  estate  to 
the  three  sons  he  had  than  his  mill,  his  ass,  and  his 
cat.  The  partition  was  soon  made.  Neither  the 
clerk  nor  the  attorney  was  sent  for.  They  would 
soon  have  eaten  up  all  the  poor  patrimony.  The 
eldest  had  the  mill,  the  second  the  ass,  and  the 
youngest  nothing  but  the  cat. 

The  poor  young  fellow  was  quite  comfortless  at 
having  so  poor  a  lot.  "  My  brothers,"  said  he,  "  may 
get  their  living  handsomely  enough  by  joining  their 
stocks  together ;  but  for  my  part,  when  I  have  eaten 
up  my  cat,  and  made  me  a  muff  of  his  skin,  I  must 
die  with  hunger." 


112  PUSS  IN  BOOTS. 

The  cat,  who  heard  all  this,  but  made  as  if  he  had 
not,  said  to  him  with  a  grave  and  serious  air :  "  Do 
not  thus  afflict  yourself,  my  good  master ;  you  have 
nothing  else  to  do  but  to  give  me  a  bag  and  get  a 
pair  of  boots  made  for  me,  that  I  may  scamper 
through  the  dirt  and  the  brambles,  and  you  shall  see 
that  you  have  not  so  bad  a  portion  of  me  as  you 
imagine." 

Though  the  cat's  master  did  not  build  very 
much  upon  what  he  said,  he  had,  however,  often 
seen  him  play  a  great  many  cunning  tricks  to 
catch  rats  and  mice;  as  when  he  used  to  hang 
by  the  heels,  or  hide  himself  in  the  meal  and  make 
as  if  he  was  dead ;  so  that  he  did  not  altogether 
despair  of  his  affording  him  some  help  in  his  miser- 
able condition. 

When  the  cat  had  what  he  asked  for,  he  booted 
himself  very  gallantly;  and  putting  his  bag  about 
his  neck,  he  held  the  strings  of  it  in  his  two  fore 
paws,  and  went  into  a  warren  where  was  great  abun- 
dance of  rabbits. 

He  put  bran  and  sow-thistle  into  his  bag,  and 
stretching  himself  out  at  length,  as  if  he  had  been 
dead,  he  waited  for  some  young  rabbits,  not  yet 
acquainted  with  the  deceits  of  the  world,  to  come  and 
rummage  his  bag  for  what  he  had  just  put  into  it. 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.          113 

Scarce  was  he  lain  down  but  he  had  what  he 
wanted ;  a  rash  and  foolish  young  rabbit  jumped 
into  his  bag,  and  master  Puss,  immediately  drawing 
close  the  strings,  took  and  killed  him  without  pity. 
Proud  of  his  prey,  he  went  with  it  to  the  palace, 
and  asked  to  speak  with  his  majesty.  He  was 
shown  upstairs  into  the  king's  apartment,  and, 
making  a  low  reverence,  said  to  him :  — 

"  I  have  brought  you,  sir,  a  rabbit  of  the  warren 
which  my  noble  lord,  the  marquis  of  Carabas " 
(for  that  was  the  title  which  Puss  was  pleased  to 
give  his  master)  "  has  commanded  me  to  present 
to  your  majesty  from  him." 

"  Tell  thy  master,"  said  the  king,  "  that  I  thank 
him,  and  that  he  gives  me  a  great  deal  of 
pleasure." 

Another  time  he  went  and  hid  himself  among 
some  standing-corn,  holding  still  his  bag  open;  and 
when  a  brace  of  partridges  ran  into  it,  he  drew  the 
strings,  and  so  caught  them  both. 

He  went  and  made  a  present  of  these  to  the 
king,  as  he  had  done  before  of  the  rabbit  which 
he  took  in  the  warren.  The  king,  in  like  manner, 
received  the  partridges  with  great  pleasure,  and 
made  him  a  gift  of  money. 

The  cat  continued  for  two  or  three  months  thus 


114  PUSS  IN  BOOTS. 

to  carry  his  majesty,  from  time  to  time,  game  of 
his  master's  taking. 

One  day  in  particular,  when  he  knew  for  certain 
that  he  was  to  take  the  air,  along  the  riverside, 
with  his  daughter,  the  most  beautiful  princess  in 
the  world,  he  said  to  his  master :  "  If  you  will 
follow  my  advice,  your  fortune  is  made ;  you  have 
nothing  else  to  do  but  go  and  wash  yourself  in 
the  river,  in  that  part  I  shall  show  you,  and  leave 
the  rest  to  me." 

The  marquis  of  Carabas  did  what  the  cat  advised 
him  to,  without  knowing  why  or  wherefore. 

While  he  was  washing,  the  king  passed  by,  and 
the  cat  began  to  cry  out  as  loud  as  he  could, 
"  Help,  help !  my  lord  marquis  of  Carabas  is  going 
to  be  drowned." 

At  this  noise  the  king  put  his  head  out  of 
his  coach-window,  and  finding  it  was  the  cat 
who  had  so  often  brought  him  such  good  game, 
he  commanded  his  guards  to  run  immediately  to 
the  assistance  of  his  lordship,  the  marquis  of 
Carabas. 

While  they  were  drawing  the  poor  marquis  out 
of  the  river,  the  cat  came  up  to  the  coach,  and 
told  the  king  that  while  his  master  was  washing 
there  came  by  some  rogues,  who  went  off  with 


THE  HEART   OF   OAK  BOOKS.  115 

his  clothes,  though  he  had  cried  out,  "  Thieves, 
thieves,"  as  loud  as  he  could. 

This  cunning  cat  had  hidden  them  under  a  great 
stone.  The  king  immediately  commanded  the  offi- 
cers of  his  wardrobe  to  run  and  fetch  one  of  his 
best  suits  for  the  lord  marquis  of  Carabas. 

The  king  caressed  him  after  a  very  extraordinary 
manner ;  and  as  the  fine  clothes  he  had  given  him 
extremely  set  off  his  good  mien  (for  he  was  well 
made,  and  very  handsome  in  his  person),  the  king's 
daughter  took  a  secret  inclination  to  him,  and  the 
marquis  of  Carabas  had  no  sooner  cast  two  or  three 
respectful  and  somewhat  tender  glances,  but  she 
fell  in  love  with  him  to  distraction.  The  king 
would  needs  have  him  come  into  his  coach,  and 
take  part  of  the  airing. 

The  cat,  quite  overjoyed  to  see  his  project  begin 
to  succeed,  marched  on  before,  and  meeting  with 
some  countrymen  who  were  mowing  a  meadow,  he 
said  to  them,  "  Good  people,  you  who  are  mowing, 
if  you  do  not  tell  the  king,  who  will  soon  pass 
this  way,  that  the  meadow  you  mow  belongs  to 
my  lord  marquis  of  Carabas,  you  shall  be  chopped 
as  small  as  herbs  for  the  pot." 

The  king  did  not  fail  asking  of  the  mowers  to 
whom  the  meadow  they  were  mowing  belonged: 


116  PUSS  IN  BOOTS. 

"  To  my  lord  marquis  of  Carabas,"  answered  they, 
all  together,  for  the  cat's  threats  had  made  them 
terribly  afraid. 

"  You  see,  sir,"  said  the  marquis,  "  this  is  a 
meadow  which  never  fails  to  yield  a  plentiful  har- 
vest every  year." 

The  master-cat,  who  went  still  on  before,  met 
with  some  reapers,  and  said  to  them,  "  Good  peo- 
ple, you  who  are  reaping,  if  you  do  not  tell  the 
king,  who  will  presently  go  by,  that  all  this  corn 
belongs  to  the  marquis  of  Carabas,  you  shall  be 
chopped  as  small  as  herbs  for  the  pot." 

The  king,  who  passed  by  a  moment  after,  would 
needs  know  to  whom  all  that  corn,  which  he  then 
saw,  did  belong :  "  To  my  lord  marquis  of  Cara- 
bas," replied  the  reapers ;  and  the  king  was  very 
well  pleased  with  it,  as  well  as  the  marquis,  whom 
he  congratulated  thereupon. 

The  master-cat,  who  went  always  before,  said 
the  same  words  to  all  he  met;  and  the  king  was 
astonished  at  the  vast  estates  of  my  lord  marquis 
of  Carabas. 

Master  Puss  came  at  last  to  a  stately  castle,  the 
owner  of  which  was  an  ogre,  the  richest  had  ever 
been  known ;  for  all  the  lands  which  the  king  had 
then  gone  over  belonged  to  this  castle. 


THE  HEART  OF   OAK  BOOKS.  117 

The  cat,  who  had  taken  care  to  inform  himself 
who  the  ogre  was,  and  what  he  could  do,  asked  to 
speak  with  him,  saying  he  could  not  pass  so  near 
his  castle  without  having  the  honor  of  paying  his 
respects  to  him. 

The  ogre  received  him  as  civilly  as  an  ogre 
could  do,  and  made  him  sit  down.  "I  have  been 
assured,"  said  the  cat,  "  that  you  have  the  gift  of 
being  able  to  change  yourself  into  all  sorts  of 
creatures  you  have  a  mind  to ;  you  can,  for  ex- 
ample, transform  yourself  into  a  lion,  or  elephant, 
and  the  like." 

"  This  is  true,"  answered  the  ogre,  very  briskly, 
"  and  to  convince  you,  you  shall  see  me  riow  become 
a  lion." 

Puss  was  so  sadly  terrified  at  the  sight  of  a  lion 
so  near  him,  that  he  immediately  got  into  the  gutter, 
not  without  abundance  of  trouble  and  danger,  be- 
cause of  his  boots,  which  were  of  no  use  at  all  to  him 
in  walking  upon  the  tiles.  A  little  while  after,  when 
Puss  saw  that  the  ogre  had  resumed  his  natural  form, 
he  came  down  and  owned  he  had  been  very  much 
frightened. 

"  I  have  been,  moreover,  informed,"  said  the  cat, 
"  but  I  know  not  how  to  believe  it,  that  you  have 
also  the  power  to  take  on  you  the  shape  of  the 


118  PUSS  IN  BOOTS. 

smallest  animals ;  for  example,  to  change  yourself 
into  a  rat  or  a  mouse  ;  but  I  must  own  to  you,  I  take 
this  to  be  impossible." 

"  Impossible  !  "  cried  the  ogre,  "  you  shall  see  that 
presently,"  and  at  the  same  time  changed  himself 
into  a  mouse,  and  began  to  run  about  the  floor. 

Puss  no  sooner  perceived  this  but  he  fell  upon  him, 
and  ate  him  up. 

Meanwhile  the  king,  who  saw,  as  he  passed,  this 
fine  castle  of  the  ogre's,  had  a  mind  to  go  into  it. 
Puss,  who  heard  the  noise  of  his  majesty's  coach 
running  over  the  drawbridge,  ran  out  and  said  to  the 
king,  "  Your  majesty  is  welcome  to  this  castle  of  my 
lord  marquis  of  Carabas." 

"  What !  my  lord  marquis  !  "  cried  the  king,  "  and 
does  this  castle  also  belong  to  you  ?  There  can  be 
nothing  finer  than  this  court,  and  all  the  stately 
buildings  which  surround  it ;  let  us  go  into  it,  if  you 
please." 

They  passed  into  a  spacious  hall,  where  they  found 
a  magnificent  collation  which  the  ogre  had  prepared 
for  his  friends,  who  were,  that  very  day  to  visit  him, 
but  dared  not  to  enter,  knowing  the  king  was  there. 

His  majesty  was  perfectly  charmed  with  the  good 
qualities  of  my  lord  marquis  of  Carabas,  as  was  his 
daughter,  who  was  fallen  in  lore  with  him ;  and  see- 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.          119 

ing  the  vast  estate  he  possessed,  said  to  him,  while 
they  sat  at  the  feast,  "  It  will  be  owing  to  yourself 
only,  my  lord  marquis,  if  you  are  not  my  son-in-law." 

The  marquis,  making  several  low  bows,  accepted 
the  honor  which  his  majesty  conferred  upon  him,  and 
forthwith,  that  very  same  day,  married  the  princess. 

Puss  became  a  great  lord,  and  never  ran  after  mice 
any  more,  but  only  for  his  diversion. 


O   THAT   I   WAS   WHERE   I   WOULD   BE. 

0  that  I  was  where  I  would  be, 
Then  would  I  be  where  I  am  not; 
But  where  I  am,  I  must  be ; 
And  where  I  would  be,  I  cannot. 


A   LITTLE   HELP. 

Edward  Fitzgerald. 

"  Ah,  thank  'ee,  neighbor,"  said  a  perspiring  sheep- 
driver  the  other  day,  to  one  who  hooted  away  his 
flock  from  going  down  a  wrong  road,  —  "Thank  'ee 
—  a  little  help  is  worth  a  deal  o'  pity." 


120 


PUSS  IN  BOOTS. 


THE  STORY  OF  Puss  IN  BOOTS. 
TOLD  IN  PICTURES. 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.          121 


THE  STORY  OF  Puss  IN  BOOTS. 
TOLD  IN  PICTURES. 


122     HISTOEY  OF  SIS  H.    WHITTIXGTON  AND  HIS   CAT. 

THE   HISTORY  OF  SIR  R.  WHITTINGTON  AND 
HIS   CAT. 

Richard  Whittington  was  supposed  to  have  been 
an  outcast,  for  he  did  not  know  his  parents,  they 
either  dying  or  leaving  him  to  the  parish  of  Tatm- 
ton  Dean,  in  Somersetshire. 

As  he  grew  up,  being  displeased  with  the  cruel  us- 
age of  his  nurse,  he  ran  away  from  her  at  seven  years 
of  age,  and  travelled  about  the  country,  living  upon 
the  charity  of  well-disposed  persons,  till  he  grew  up 
to  be  a  fine  sturdy  youth ;  when  at  last,  being 
threatened  to  be  whipped  if  he  continued  in  that  idle 
course  of  life,  he  resolved  to  go  to  London,  whose 
streets  he  heard  were  paved  with  gold. 

Not  knowing  the  way,  he  followed  the  carrier ; 
and  at  night,  for  the  little  services  he  did  him  in 
rubbing  his  horses,  he  got  from  him  a  supper. 

When  he  arrived  in  this  famous  city,  the  carrier, 
supposing  he  would  become  a  troublesome  hanger-on, 
told  him  plainly  he  must  leave  the  inn,  and  immedi- 
ately seek  out  some  employment,  at  the  same  time 
giving  him  a  groat.  With  this  he  wandered  about, 
not  knowing  any  one,  and,  being  in  a  tattered  garb, 
some  pitied  him  as  a  forlorn  wretch,  but  few  gave 
him  anything. 


TEE  HEAET  OF  OAK  BOOKS.          123 

What  he  had  being  soon  spent,  his  stomach  craved 
supply ;  but  not  having  anything  to  satisfy  it,  he 
resolved  rather  to  starve  than  steal. 

After  two  hungry  days,  and  lying  on  bulk-heads 
at  night,  weary  and  faint,  he  got  to  a  merchant's 
house  in  Leadenhall  Street,  when  he  made  many 
signs  of  his  distressed  condition,  but  the  ill-natured 
cook  was  going  to  kick  him  from  the  door,  saying, 
"  If  you  tarry  here,  I  will  kick  you  into  the  kennel." 
This  put  him  almost  into  despair,  so  he  laid  him 
down  on  the  ground,  being  unable  to  go  any 
farther. 

In  the  meantime,  Mr.  Fitzwarren,  whose  house  it 
was,  came  from  the  Royal  Exchange,  and,  seeing 
him  there  in  that  condition,  demanded  what  he 
wanted,  and  sharply  told  him,  if  he  did  not  immedi- 
ately depart,  he  would  cause  him  to  be  sent  to  the 
house  of  correction,  calling  him  a  lazy  fellow. 

On  this,  he  got  up ;  and,  after  falling  two  or  three 
times,  through  faintness  and  want  of  food,  making 
a  bow,  he  told  him  he  was  a  poor  country  fellow, 
and  that,  if  he  might  be  put  in  a  way,  he  would 
refuse  no  labor,  if  it  was  only  for  his  food.  This 
raised  a  compassion  in  the  merchant  towards  him ; 
and  then  wanting  a  scullion,  he  immediately  ordered 
one  of  his  servants  to  take  him  in,  and  gave  orders 


124    HISTORY  OF  SIB  R.    WHITTINGTON  AND  HIS  CAT. 

how  he  should  be  employed.  And  so  he  was  fed,  to 
his  great  refreshment. 

This  was  the  first  step  of  Providence  to  raise  him 
to  what  in  time  made  him  the  city's  glory  and  the 
nation's  wonder.  But  he  met  with  many  difficulties, 
for  the  servants  made  sport  of  him,  and  the  ill- 
natured  cook  told  him,  "  You  are  to  come  under  me  > 
so  look  sharp,  clean  the  spits  and  the  dripping-pan, 
make  the  fires,  wind  up  the  jack,  and  nimbly  do  ah1 
other  scullery  work  that  I  may  set  you  about,  or 
else  I  will  break  your  head  with  my  ladle,  and  kick 
you  about  like  a  foot-ball." 

This  was  cold  comfort,  but  better  than  starving ; 
and  what  gave  him  a  beam  of  hope  was  that  Miss 
Alice,  his  master's  daughter,  hearing  her  father  had 
entertained  another  servant,  came  to  see  him,  and 
ordered  that  he  should  be  kindly  used.  After  she 
had  discoursed  with  him  about  his  kindred  and 
method  of  life,  and  found  his  answers  ingenuous, 
she  ordered  him  some  cast-off  garments,  and  that 
he  should  be  clean,  and  appear  like  a  servant  in  the 
house. 

Then  she  went  to  her  parents,  and  gave  them 
her  opinion  of  this  stranger,  which  pleased  them 
well,  saying,  "  He  looks  like  a  serviceable  fellow  to 
do  kitchen  drudgery,  run  on  errands,  clean  shoes,  and 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  125 

do  such  other  things  as  the  rest  of  the  servants  think 
beneath  them." 

By  this  tune  he  was  confirmed  in  his  place,  and  a 
flock  bed  prepared  in  the  garret  for  him.  These 
conditions  pleased  him  and  he  showed  great  diligence 
in  the  work,  rising  early  and  sitting  up  late,  leaving 
nothing  undone  that  he  could  do. 

But,  alas !  being  mostly  under  the  cook-maid,  she 
gave  him  sour  sauce  to  these  little  sweets ;  for  being 
of  a  morose  temper,  she  used  her  authority  beyond 
reason ;  so  that,  to  keep  in  the  family  he  had  many 
a  broken  head,  and  the  more  he  tried  with  good 
words  •  to  dissuade  her  from  her  cruelty,  the  more 
she  insulted  him,  and  not  only  abused  him,  but  fre- 
quently complained  against  him,  endeavoring  to  get 
him  turned  out  of  his  service. 

But  Miss  Alice,  hearing  of  her  usage,  interposed 
in  his  favor,  so  that  she  should  not  prevail  against 
him. 

This  was  not  the  only  misfortune  he  suffered,  for, 
lying  in  a  place  for  a  long  time  unfrequented,  such 
abundance  of  rats  and  mice  had  bred  there,  that 
they  were  almost  as  troublesome  by  night  as  the 
cook  was  by  day,  running  over  his  face,  and  disturb- 
ing him  with  their  squeaking,  so  that  he  knew  not 
what  to  think  of  his  condition  or  how  to  mend  it 


126     HISTORY  OF  SIB   K.    WHITTINQTON  AND  HIS  CAT. 

After  many  disquieting  thoughts,  he  at  last  com- 
forted himself  with  the  hopes  that  the  cook  might 
soon  marry  or  die,  or  quit  her  service ;  and  as  for 
the  rats  and  mice,  a  cat  would  be  an  effectual  remedy 
against  them. 

Soon  after,  a  merchant  came  to  dinner,  and,  it 
raining  exceedingly  hard,  he  stayed  all  night.  "Whit- 
tington,  having  cleaned  his  shoes,  and  brought  them 
to  his  chamber-door,  received  from  the  merchant  a 
penny.  This  stock  he  improved,  for,  going  along 
the  street  of  an  errand,  he  saw  a  woman  with  a  cat 
under  her  arm ;  so  he  desired  to  know  the  price  of 
it.  The  woman  praised  it  for  a  good  mouser,  and 
told  him,  sixpence.  But  he  declared  that  a  penny 
was  all  his  stock ;  and  she  let  him  have  it. 

He  took  the  cat  home,  and  kept  her  in  a  box  all 
day,  lest  the  cook  should  kill  her  if  she  came  into 
the  kitchen,  and  at  night  he  set  her  to  work  for 
her  living.  Puss  delivered  him  from  one  plague ; 
but  the  other  remained,  though  not  for  many 
years. 

It  was  the  custom  with  the  worthy  merchant,  Mr. 
Hugh  Fitzwarren,  that  God  might  give  a  greater 
blessing  to  his  endeavors,  to  call  all  his  servants 
together  when  he  sent  out  a  ship,  and  cause  every 
one  to  venture  something  in  it,  to  try  their  fortunes, 


THE  HEART   OF   OAK  BOOKS.  127 

for  which  they  were  to  pay  nothing  for  freight  or 
custom. 

Now  all  but  Whittington  appeared,  and  brought 
things  according  to  their  abilities.  But  Miss  Alice 
being  by,  and  supposing  that  poverty  made  him 
decline  corning,  ordered  him  to  be  called,  on  which 
he  made  several  excuses ;  however,  being  constrained 
to  come,  he  said  that  he  hoped  they  would  not  jeer 
at  a  poor  simple  fellow  for  being  in  expectation  of 
turning  merchant,  since  all  that  he  could  claim  as 
his  own  was  but  a  poor  cat,  which  he  had  bought 
for  a  penny  that  he  had  had  given  him  for  cleaning 
shoes,  and  which  had  much  befriended  him  in  keep- 
ing the  rats  and  mice  from  him. 

Upon  this,  Miss  Alice  offered  to  lay  something 
down  for  him ;  but  her  father  told  her  the  custom 
was,  it  must  be  his  own  which  he  ventured,  and 
then  ordered  him  to  bring  his  cat ;  which  he  did, 
but  with  great  reluctance,  fancying  nothing  would 
come  of  it.  He  with  tears  delivered  it  to  the 
master  of  the  ship,  which  was  called  the  "  Unicorn," 
and  which  fell  down  to  Blackwall  in  order  to  pro- 
ceed on  her  voyage. 

The  cook-maid,  who  little  thought  how  advan- 
tageous Whittington's  cat  would  prove,  would  jeer 
at  him  about  his  grand  adventure,  when  she  did 


128     HISTORY  OF  SIB  S.    WHITTINGTON  AND  HIS  CAT. 

not  scold  at  him,  and  led  him  such  a  life  that  he 
grew  weary  of  enduring  it,  and  little  expecting  what 
ensued,  he  resolved  rather  to  try  Dame  Fortune  than 
live  in  such  great  torment. 

And  so,  having  packed  up  his  bundle  over  night, 
he  got  out  early  on  Allhallow's  day,  intending  to 
ramble  about  the  country.  But  as  he  went  through 
Moorfields,  he  began  to  have  pensive  thoughts,  and 
his  resolutions  began  to  fail  him  ;  however,  on  he 
went  to  Holloway,  and  sat  down  there  to  consider 
of  the  matter,  when  on  a  sudden  Bow  bells  began  to 
ring  a  merry  peal. 

He  listened,  fancied  they  called  him  back  from 
his  intended  journey,  and  promised  him  the  good 
fortune  that  afterwards  befell  him,  imagining  they 

expressed,  — 

"  Turn  again,  Whittington, 
Lord  Mayor  of  London." 

This  was  a  happy  thought,  as  it  made  so  great  an 
impression  on  him,  that  finding  that  it  was  early, 
and  that  he  might  be  at  home  before  the  family 
were  stirring,  he  delayed  not :  and  all  things  an- 
swered his  expectation,  for,  having  left  the  door 
ajar,  he  crept  softly  in,  and  got  to  his  usual 
drudgery. 

During  this  time,  the  ship  in  which  the  cat  was. 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.          129 

was  driven  by  contrary  winds  on  the  coast  of  Bar- 
bary,  inhabited  by  Moors,  unknown  to  the  English ; 
but,  finding  the  people  courteous,  the  master  and 
factor  traded  with  them;  so,  bringing  their  wares 
of  sundry  sorts  upon  the  decks,  and  opening  them, 
they  suited  them  so  well  that  the  news  was  carried 
to  the  king,  who  sent  for  patterns,  with  which  he 
was  so  pleased  that  he  sent  for  the  factor  to  his 
palace. 

Their  entertainment,  according  to  custom,  was  on 
the  floor,  covered  with  carpets  interwoven  with  gold 
and  silver,  on  which  they  sat  cross-legged.  This 
kind  of  table  was  no  sooner  laid  with  various  dishes 
than  the  scent  drew  together  a  great  number  of 
rats  and  mice,  which  devoured  all  that  came  in 
their  way.  This  much  surprised  the  factor,  who 
asked  the  nobles  if  these  vermin  were  not  offensive. 

"  Oh,"  said  they,  "  very  much  so.  His  majesty 
would  give  half  his  revenue  to  be  freed  from  them ; 
for  they  are  not  only  offensive  at  his  table,  but  his 
chamber  and  bed  are  so  troubled  with  them  that 
he  is  always  guarded  for  fear  of  mischief."  The 
factor  then  remembering  Whittington's  cat,  and 
rejoicing  at  the  occasion,  told  the  king  that  he 
had  an  English  beast  in  the  ship  which  would  rid 
all  the  court  of  them  quickly. 


130     HISTORY  OF  SIB  R.   WHITTINGTON  AND  HIS  CAT. 

The  king,  overjoyed  at  hearing  the  good  news, 
and  being  anxious  to  be  freed  from  those  vermin 
which  so  much  spoiled  his  pleasure,  disturbed  his 
mind,  and  made  all  his  enjoyments  burdensome, 
desired  to  see  this  surprising  creature ;  saying, 
"  For  such  a  thing,  I  will  load  your  ship  with 
gold,  diamonds,  and  rich  pearls." 

This  large  offer  made  the  master  endeavor  the 
more  to  enhance  the  cat's  merits,  saying,  "  She  is 
the  most  admirable  creature  "in  the  world;  and  I 
cannot  spare  her  for  she  keeps  my  ship  clear  of 
rats  and  mice,  otherwise  they  would  destroy  all 
my  goods." 

But  his  majesty  would  take  no  denial,  saying, 
"  No  price  shall  part  us." 

The  cat  being  sent  for,  and  the  tables  being 
spread,  the  vermin  came  as  before.  Then  they  set 
her  on  the  table,  and  she  fell  to  it  immediately, 
and  killed  them  all  in  a  trice.  Then  she  came 
purring  and  curling  up  her  tail  to  the  king  and 
queen,  as  if  she  asked  a  reward  for  her  service ; 
whilst  they  admired  her,  protesting  it  was  the 
finest  diversion  they  had  ever  seen. 

His  Moorish  majesty  was  so  pleased  with  the  cat 
that  he  gave  ten  times  more  for  her  than  for  all 
the  freight  besides.  The  ship  then  sailed  with  a 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  131 

fair  wind,  and  arrived  safe  at  Blackwall,  being  the 
richest  ship  that  ever  came  into  England. 

The  master  took  the  cabinet  of  jewels  with  him 
on  shore,  they  being  too  rich  a  prize  to  be  left  on 
board,  and  presented  his  bill  of  lading  to  Mr.  Fitz- 
warren,  who  praised  God  for  such  a  prosperous 
voyage. 

When  he  called  all  of  his  servants  to  give  each 
his  due,  the  master  showed  him  the  cabinet  of 
pearls  and  jewels,  the  sight  of  which  much  surprised 
him ;  but  upon  being  told  it  was  all  for  Whitting- 
ton's  cat,  he  said,  "  God  forbid  that  I  should  deprive 
him  of  one  farthing  of  it." 

He  then  sent  for  him  by  the  title  of  Mr.  Whitting- 
ton,  who  was  then  in  the  kitchen  cleaning  pots  and 
spits.  Being  told  he  must  come  to  his  master,  he 
made  several  excuses ;  but,  being  urged  to  go,  he 
at  length  came  to  the  door  and  there  stood  bowing 
and  scraping,  scrupling  to  enter,  until  the  merchant 
commanded  him  in  and  ordered  a  chair  to  be  imme- 
diately set  for  him ;  on  which  he,  thinking  they 
intended  to  make  sport  of  him,  fell  on  his  knees, 
and  with  tears  in  his  eyes  besought  him  not  to 
mock  a  poor  simple  fellow,  who  meant  none  of 
them  any  harm. 

Mr.   Fitzwarren,    raising   him   up,   said,  "  Indeed, 


132    HISTORY  OF  SIR  R.    WHITTINGTON  AND  HIS   CAT. 

Mr.  Whittington,  we  are  serious  with  you,  for  in 
estate  at  this  instant  you  are  an  abler  man  than 
myself,"  and  then  gave  him  the  vast  riches  which 
amounted  to  three  hundred  thousand  pounds,  —  an 
immense  sum  in  those  days. 

At  length,  being  persuaded  to  believe,  he  fell 
upon  his  knees,  and  praised  Almighty  God,  who 
had  vouchsafed  to  behold  so  poor  a  creature  in  the 
midst  of  his  misery.  Then,  turning  to  his  master, 
he  laid  his  riches  at  his  feet ;  but  he  said,  "  No, 
Mr.  Whittington,  God  forbid  I  should  take  so  much 
as  a  ducat  from  you ;  may  it  be  a  comfort  to 
you!" 

Whittington  then  turned  to  Miss  Alice,  but  she 
also  refused  it;  upon  which,  bowing  low,  he  said 
to  her,  "  Madam,  whenever  you  please  to  make 
choice  of  a  husband,  I  will  make  you  the  greatest 
fortune  in  the  world." 

Upon  this  he  began  to  distribute  his  bounty  to 
his  fellow-servants,  giving  even  his  mortal  enemy 
the  cook  one  hundred  pounds  for  her  portion.  He 
also  distributed  his  bounty  very  plentifully  to  all 
the  ship's  crew. 

Upon  this  change,  the  haberdashers,  tailors,  and 
sempstresses  were  set  to  work  to  make  Mr.  Whit- 
tington fine  clothes,  and  all  things  answerable  to 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.          133 

his  fortune.  Being  dressed,  he  appeared  a  very 
comely  person,  insomuch  that  Miss  Alice  began  to 
lay  her  eyes  upon  him.  Now,  her  father,  seeing 
this,  intended  a  match  between  them,  looking  upon 
him  to  be  a  fortunate  man.  He  also  took  him  to 
the  Royal  Exchange  to  see  the  customs  of  the 
merchants,  where  he  was  no  sooner  known  than 
they  came  to  welcome  him  into  their  society. 

Soon  after  this,  a  match  was  proposed  between 
him  and  his  master's  daughter,  when  he  excused 
himself  on  account  of  the  meanness  of  his  birth ; 
but  that  objection  being  removed  by  his  present 
worth,  it  was  soon  agreed  upon,  and  the  Lord 
Mayor  and  Aldermen  were  invited  to  the  wedding. 

After  the  honeymoon  was  over,  his  father-in-law 
asked  him  what  employment  he  would  follow; 
whereupon  he  replied,  he  should  like  that  of  a 
merchant.  So  they  joined  together  in  partnership, 
and  both  grew  immensely  rich. 

Though  fortune  had  thus  bountifully  smiled  on 
the  subject  of  our  history,  he  was  far  from  being 
proud ;  yet  he  was  merry,  which  made  his  company 
and  acquaintance  courted  by  all;  and  in  a  short 
time  he  was  nominated  Sheriff  of  London  in  the 
year  1393,  Sir  John  Hadley  then  being  Lord 
Mayor. 


134    HISTORY  OF  SIR  E.    WHITTINGTON  AND  HIS   CAT. 

Thus  he  grew  in  riches  and  fame,  being  greatly 
beloved  by  all,  especially  the  poor,  whose  hunger 
he  always  supplied.  In  five  years'  time  he  was 
chosen  Lord  Mayor,  in  which  office  he  behaved 
with  such  justice  and  prudence,  that  he  was  chosen 
twice  afterwards  in  the  same  offi.-e. 

In  the  last  year  he  entertained  King  Henry  V., 
after  his  conquest  of  France,  and  his  queen  at  Guild- 
hall, in  such  a  very  grand  manner,  that  the  king  was 
pleased  to  say,  "  Never  prince  had  such  a  subject," 
and  conferred  upon  him  the  honor  of  knighthood. 

At  this  entertainment  the  king  particularly  praised 
the  fire,  which  was  made  of  choice  wood,  mixed  with 
mace,  cloves,  and  all  other  spices ;  on  which  Sir 
Richard  said  he  would  endeavor  to  make  one  still 
more  agreeable  to  his  majesty,  and  immediately  tore 
and  threw  into  the  fire  the  king's  bond  for  ten 
thousand  marks  due  to  the  company  of  mercers; 
two  thousand  five  hundred  to  the  Chamber;  two 
thousand  to  the  grocers ;  and  to  the  merchants, 
staplers,  goldsmiths,  haberdashers,  vintners,  brewers, 
and  bakers,  three  thousand  marks  each. 

"All  these,"  said  Sir  Richard,  "with  divers 
others  lent  for  the  payment  of  your  soldiers  in 
France,  I  have  taken  in  and  discharged  to  the 
amount  of  sixty  thousand  pounds  sterling.  Can 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.          135 

your  majesty  desire  to  see  such  another  sight  ? " 
The  king  and  nobles  were  struck  dumb  with  sur- 
prise at  his  wealth  and  liberality. 

Sir  Richard  spent  the  rest  of  his  days  honored  by 
the  rich  and  beloved  by  the  poor.  He  had  by  his 
wife  two  sons  and  two  daughters,  some  of  whose 
posterity  are  worthy  citizens. 

He  built  many  charitable  houses ;  also  a  church 
in  Vintry  Ward,  dedicated  to  St.  Michael,  adding 
to  it  a  college,  dedicated  to  St.  Mary,  with  a  yearly 
allowance  for  poor  scholars;  near  which  he  erected 
a  hospital,  and  well  endowed  it.  There  he  caused 
his  father-in-law  and  mother-in-law  to  be  buried, 
and  left  room  for  himself  and  wife  when  death 
should  call  them.  He  built  Newgate,  a  place  for 
criminals.  He  gave  large  sums  to  Bartholomew's 
Hospital,  and  to  many  other  charitable  uses. 

Dame  Alice,  his  wife,  died  in  the  sixty-third  year 
of  her  age,  after  which  he  would  not  marry,  though 
he  outlived  her  near  twenty  years.  In  the  conclu- 
sion, he  died,  and  was  buried  in  the  place  aforesaid, 
leaving  a  good  name  to  posterity.  The  figure  of 
Sir  Richard  Whittington,  with  his  cat  in  his  arms, 
carved  in  stone,  was  to  be  seen  till  the  year  1780, 
over  the  archway  of  the  old  prison  of  Newgate, 
that  stood  across  Newgate  Street. 


136    BISTORT  OF  SIH   K.    WHITTINGTON  AND   HIS   CAT. 


THE  STORY  OF  DICK  WHITTINGTON. 
TOLD  IN  PICTURES. 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS. 


137 


THE  STORY  OF  DICK  WHITTINGTON. 
TOLD  IN  PICTURES. 


138         HISTORY  OF  LITTLE   GOODY  TWOSIIOES. 


A    PART    OF    THE    RENOWNED    HISTORY    OF 
LITTLE   GOODY   TWOSHOES. 

INSCRIBED   TO    ALL    YOUNG    GENTLEMEN   AND    LADIES 
WHO    ARE    GOOD,    OR   INTEND    TO    BE    GOOD. 

Attributed  to  Oliver  Goldsmith. 

All  the  world  must  allow  that  Twoshoes  was  not 
her  real  name.  No ;  her  father's  name  was  Mean- 
well,  and  he  was  for  many  years  a  considerable 
farmer  in  the  parish  where  Margery  was  born ;  but 
by  the  misfortunes  which  he  met  with  in  business, 
and  the  wicked  persecutions  of  Sir  Timothy  Gripe, 
and  an  overgrown  farmer  called  Graspall,  he  was 
effectually  ruined.  .  .  .  These  men  turned  the  far- 
mer, his  wife,  Little  Margery  and  her  brother  out 
of  doors,  without  any  of  the  necessaries  of  life  to 
support  them.  .  .  . 

Care  and  discontent  shortened  the  days  of  Little 
Margery's  father.  .  .  .  Her  poor  mother  survived 
the  loss  of  her  husband  but  a  few  days,  and  died 
of  a  broken  heart,  leaving  Margery  and  her  little 
brother  to  the  wide  world.  ...  It  would  both 
have  excited  your  pity  and  have  done  your  heart 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.          139 

good,  to  have  seen  how  fond  these  two  little  ones 
were  of  each  other,  and  how,  hand  in  hand,  they 
trotted  about. 

They  were  both  very  ragged,  and  Tommy  had  two 
shoes,  but  Margery  had  but  one.  They  had  nothing, 
poor  things,  to  support  them  (not  being  in  their  own 
parish)  but  what  they  picked  from  the  hedges,  or  got 
from  the  poor  people,  and  they  lay  every  night  in  a 
barn.  Their  relatives  took  no  notice  of  them ;  no, 
they  were  rich,  and  ashamed  to  own  such  a  poor 
little  ragged  girl  as  Margery,  and  such  a  dirty  little 
curl-pated  boy  as  Tommy.  Our  relatives  and  friends 
seldom  take  notice  of  us  when  we  are  poor ;  but  as 
we  grow  rich  they  grow  fond. 

And  this  will  always  be  the  case,  while  people  love 
money  better  than  virtue,  or  better  than  they  do  God 
Almighty. 

But  such  wicked  folks,  who  love  nothing  but 
money,  and  are  proud  and  despise  the  poor,  never 
come  to  any  good  in  the  end,  as  we  shall  see  by 
and  by. 

Mr.  Smith  was  a  very  worthy  clergyman,  who 
lived  in  the  parish  where  Little  Margery  and  Tommy 
were  born ;  and  having  a  relative  come  to  see  him, 
he  sent  for  these  children  to  him.  The  gentleman 
ordered  Little  Margery  a  new  pair  of  shoes,  gave  Mr. 


140         HISTORY  OF  LITTLE  GOODY  TWOSHOES. 

Smith  some  money  to  buy  her  clothes ;  and  said  he 
would  take  Tommy  and  make  him  a  little  sailor.  .  .  . 

The  parting  between  these  two  little  children  was 
very  affecting.  Tommy  cried,  and  Margery  cried, 
and  they  kissed  each  other  an  hundred  times.  At 
last  Tommy  wiped  off  her  tears  with  the  end  of  his 
jacket,  and  bid  her  cry  no  more,  for  that  he  would 
come  to  her  again,  when  he  returned  from  sea.  .  .  . 

As  soon  as  Little  Margery  got  up  the  next  morn- 
ing, which  was  very  early,  she  ran  all  round  the  vil- 
lage, crying  for  her  brother ;  and  after  some  time 
returned  greatly  distressed.  However,  at  this  instant, 
the  shoemaker  very  opportunely  came  in  with  the 
new  shoes,  for  which  she  had  been  measured  by  the 
gentleman's  order. 

Nothing  could  have  supported  Little  Margery 
under  the  affliction  she  was  in  for  the  loss  of  her 
brother  but  the  pleasure  she  took  in  her  two  shoes. 
She  ran  out  to  Mrs.  Smith  as  soon  as  they  were  put 
on,  and  stroking  down  her  ragged  apron  cried  out :  — 

"  Two  shoes,  mamma,  see,  two  shoes ! " 

And  so  she  behaved  to  all  the  people  she  met,  and 
by  that  means  obtained  the  name  of  Goody  Twoshoes, 
though  her  playmates  called  her  Old  Goody  Twoshoes. 

Little  Margery  was  very  happy  in  being  with  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Smith,  who  were  very  charitable  and  good 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.         141 

to  her,  and  had  agreed  to  breed  her  up  with  their 
family.  .  .  .  But  at  last  they  were  obliged  to  send 
her  away ;  for  the  people  who  had  ruined  her  father, 
could  at  any  time  have  ruined  them. 

Little  Margery  saw  how  good  and  how  wise  Mr. 
Smith  was,  and  concluded  that  this  was  owing  to  his 
great  learning,  therefore  she  wanted  of  all  things  to 
learn  to  read.  For  this  purpose  she  used  to  meet  the 
little  boys  and  girls  as  they  came  from  school,  borrow 
their  books,  and  sit  down  and  read  till  they  returned. 
By  this  means  she  soon  got  more  learning  than  any 
of  her  playmates,  and  laid  the  following  scheme  for 
instructing  those  who  were  more  ignorant  than 
herself. 

She  found  that  only  the  following  letters  were  re- 
quired to  spell  all  the  words  in  the  world ;  but  as 
some  of  these  letters  are  large  and  some  small,  she 
with  her  knife  cut  out  of  several  pieces  of  wood,  ten 
sets  of  each  of  these :  — 

abcdefghij    klm   nopq   rstuvw 

x  y  z 

And  six  sets  of  these  :  — 

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRS 
T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z. 


142         HISTORY  OF  LITTLE  GOODY  TWOSHOES. 

And  having  got  an  old  spelling-book,  she  made  her 
companions  set  up  all  the  words  they  wanted  to  spell ; 
and  after  that  she  taught  them  to  compose  sentences. 
You  know  what  a  sentence  is,  my  dear  ?  /  will  be 
good,  is  a  sentence ;  and  is  made  up,  as  you  see,  of 
several  words. 

The  usual  manner  of  spelling  or  carrying  on  the 
game  as  they  called  it,  was  this :  suppose  the  word 
to  be  spelt  was  plum  pudding  —  and  who  can  suppose 
a  better?  The  children  were  placed  in  a  circle,  and 
the  first  brought  the  letter  p,  the  next  /,  the  next  u, 
the  next  m,  and  so  on  until  the  whole  was  spelt; 
and  if  any  one  brought  a  wrong  letter,  he  was  to  pay 
a  fine,  or  play  no  more.  This  was  at  their  play ; 
and  every  morning  she  used  to  go  round  to  teach  the 
children  with  these  rattle-traps  in  a  basket. 

I  once  went  her  rounds  with  her.  It  was  about 
seven  o'clock  in  the  morning  when  we  set  out  on  this 
important  business,  and  the  first  house  we  came  to 
was  Farmer  Wilson's.  Here  Margery  stopped,  and 
ran  up  to  the  door,  tap,  tap,  tap. 

"  Who's  there  ?  " 

"  Only  little  Goody  Twoshoes,"  answered  Margery, 
"  come  to  teach  Billy." 

"  Oh !  little  Goody,"  says  Mrs.  Wilson,  with  pleas- 
ure in  her  face,  "  I  am  glad  to  see  you. 


THE  HEART   OF  OAK  BOOKS.  143 

"  Billy  wants  you  sadly,  for  he  has  learned  all  his 
lesson." 

Then  out  came  the  little  boy. 

"  How  do,  Doody  Twoshoes,"  says  he,  not  able  to 
speak  plain. 

Yet  this  little  boy  had  learned  all  his  letters ;  for 
she  threw  down  this  alphabet  mixed  together 
thus :  — 

bdfhkmoqsuwyzacegiln 
p.r  t  v  x  j. 

And  he  picked  them  up,  called  them  by  their  right 
names  and  put  them  all  in  order  thus :  — 

abcdefghijklmnopqrst 
u  v  w  x  y  z. 

She  then  threw  down  the  alphabet  of  capital 
letters  in  the  manner  you  here  see  them :  — 

BDFHKM    OQSUWYZAC 
EGILMPRTVXJ. 

And  he  picked  them  all  up,  and  having  told  their 
names,  placed  them  thus :  — 

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP 
QRSTUVWXYZ. 


144         HISTORY  OF  LITTLE   &OODY  TWOSHOES. 

The  next  place  we  came  to  was  Farmer  Simpson's. 
"  Bow,  bow,  bow,"  says  the  dog  at  the  door. 

"  Sirrah,"  says  his  Mistress,  "  what,  do  you  bark  at 
Little  Twoshoes?" 

"  Come  in,  Madge ;  here,  Sally  wants  you  sadly ; 
she  has  learned  all  her  lesson." 

Then  out  came  the  little  one. 

"  So  Madge ! "  says  she. 

"  So  Sally ! "  answered  the  other,  "  have  you 
learned  your  lesson?" 

"Yes,  that's  what  I  have," 'replied  the  little  one, 
in  the  country  manner ;  and  immediately  taking  the 
letters  she  set  up  these  syllables :  — 

ba     be     bi     bo     bu,     ca     ce     ci     co     cu, 
da     de     di     do     du,     fa     fe     fi     fo     fu, 

and  gave  them  their  exact  sounds  as  she  composed 
them ;  after  which  she  set  up  the  following :  — 

ac     ec     ic     oc     uc,    ad     ed     id     od     ud, 
af     ef     if     of     uf,     ag     eg     ig     og  •  ug, 

and  pronounced  them  likewise.  .  .  . 

After  this,  Little  Twoshoes  taught  her  to  spell 
words  of  one  syllable,  and  she  soon  set  up  pear, 
plum,  top,  ball,  pin,  puss,  dog,  hog,  fawn,  buck,  doe, 


THE  HEART   OF  OAK  BOOKS.  145 

lamb,  sheep,  ram,  cow,  bull,  cock,  hen,  and  many 
more. 

The  next  place  we  came  to  was  Gaffer  Cook's 
cottage.  Here  a  number  of  poor  children  were  met 
to  learn,  who  all  came  round  Little  Margery  at  once  ; 
and,  having  pulled  out  her  letters,  she  asked  the 
boy  next  her,  what  he  had  for  dinner. 

Who  answered,  "  Bread "  (the  poor  children  in 
many  places  live  very  hard). 

"Well,  then,"  says  she,  "set  the  first  letter." 

He  then  put  up  the  letter  B,  to  which  the  next 
added  r,  and  the  next  e,  the  next  a,  the  next  d ;  and 
it  stood  thus,  " Bread" 

"And  what  had  you,  Polly  Comb,  for  your 
dinner  ?  " 

"  Apple-pie,"  answered  the  little  girl :  upon  which 
the  next  in  turn  set  up  a  great  A,  the  two  next  a  p 
each,  and  so  on  until  the  two  words  Apple  and  pie 
were  united  and  stood  thus,  " Apple-pie'' 

The  next  had  Potatoes,  the  next  Beef  and  Tur- 
nips, which  were  spelt,  with  many  others,  until  the 
game  of  spelling  was  finished.  She  then  set  them< 
another  task,  and  we  went  on. 

The  next  place  we  came  to  was  Farmer  Thomp- 
son's, where  there  were  a  great  many  little  ones 
waiting  for  her. 


146         HISTORY  OF  LITTLE  GOODY  TWOSHOES. 

"So,  little  Mrs.  Goody  Twoshoes,"  says  one  of 
them,  "  where  have  you  been  so  long  ?  " 

"  I  have  been  teaching,"  says  she,  "  longer  than 
I  intended,  and  am  afraid  I  am  come  too  soon  for 
you  now." 

"  No,  but  indeed  you  are  not,"  replied  the  other,  "for 
I  have  got  my  lesson,  and  so  has  Sally  Dawson,  and 
so  has  Harry  Wilson,  and  so  have  we  all ; "  and  they 
capered  about  as  if  they  were  overjoyed  to  see  her. 

"  Why  then,"  says  she,  "  you  are  all  very  good, 
and  God  Almighty  will  love  you  ;  so  let  us  begin  our 
lesson." 

They  all  huddled  round  her,  and  though  at  the 
other  place  they  were  employed  about  words  and 
syllables,  here  we  had  people  of  much  greater  under- 
standing, who  dealt  only  in  sentences. 

The  letters  being  brought  upon  the  table,  one  of 
the  little  ones  set  up  the  following  sentence :  — 

The  Lord  have  mercy  upon  me,  and  grant  that  1 

may  ~be  always  good,  and  say  my  prayers,  and  love  the 

Lord  my  God  with  all  my  heart,  and  with  all  my  soul, 

9 and  with  all  my  strength  ;  and  honor  government  and 

all  good  men  in  authority. 

Then  the  next  took  the  letters,  and  composed  this 
sentence :  — 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.          147 

Lord  have  mercy  upon  me,  and  grant  that  I  may 
love  my  neighbor  as  myself,  and  do  unto  all  men  as  1 
would  have  them  do  unto  me,  and  tell  no  lies  ;  but  be 
honest  and  just  in  all  my  dealings. 

The  third  composed  the  following  sentence :  — 

The  Lord  have  mercy  upon  me,  and  grant  that 
I  may  honor  my  father  and  mother,  and  love  my 
brothers  and  sisters,  relatives  and  friends,  and  all 
my  playmates,  and  everybody,  and  endeavor  to  make 
them  happy. 

The  fourth  composed  the  following:  — 

/  pray  God  to  bless  this  whole  company,  and  all 
our  friends,  and  all  our  enemies. 

As  we  were  returning  home,  we  saw  a  gentle- 
man, who  was  very  ill,  sitting  under  a  shady  tree 
at  the  corner  of  his  rookery.  Though  ill,  he 
began  to  joke  with  Little  Margery,  and  said, 
laughingly :  — 

"  So,  Goody  Twoshoes,  they  tell  me  you  are  a 
cunning  little  baggage;  pray,  can  you  tell  me  what 
I  shall  do  to  get  well?" 

"  Yes,"  says  she,  t(  go  to  bed  when  your  rooks 
do.  You  see  they  are  going  to  rest  already.  Do 


148         HISTORY  OF  LITTLE  GOODY  TWOSHOES. 

you  so  likewise,  and  get  up  with  them  in  the 
morning;  earn,  as  they  do,  every  day  what  you 
eat,  and  eat  and  drink  no  more  than  you  earn, 
and  you  will  get  health  and  keep  it.  What  should 
induce  the  rooks  to  frequent  gentlemen's  houses 
only,  but  to  tell  them  how  to  lead  a  prudent  life  ? 
They  never  build  over  cottages  or  farm-houses,  be- 
cause they  see  that  these  people  know  how  to  live 
without  their  admonition." 

The  gentleman,  laughing,  gave  Margery  sixpence, 
and  told  her  she  was  a  sensible  hussy. 

Mrs.  Williams,  who  kept  a  college  for  instructing 
little  gentlemen  and  ladies  in  the  science  of  A,  B,  C, 
was  at  this  time  very  old  and  infirm,  and  wanted 
to  decline  that  important  trust.  This  being  told 
to  Sir  William  Dove,  who  lived  in  the  parish,  he 
sent  for  Mrs.  Williams,  and  desired  she  would  ex- 
amine Little  Twoshoes,  and  see  whether  she  was 
qualified  for  the  office. 

This  was  done,  and  Mrs.  Williams  made  the  fol- 
lowing report  in  her  favor,  namely,  that  Little 
Margery  was  the  best  scholar,  and  had  the  best 
head,  and  the  best  heart  of  any  one  she  had 
examined. 

All  the  country  had  a  great  opinion  of  Mrs. 
Williams,  and  this  character  gave  them  also  a  great 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.         149 

opinion  of  Mrs.  Margery,  for  so  we  must  now  call 
her. 

This  Mrs.  Margery  thought  the  happiest  period 
of  her  life;  but  more  happiness  was  in  store  for 
her.  God  Almighty  heaps  up  blessings  for  all  those 
who  love  him,  and  though  for  a  time  he  may 
suffer  them  to  be  poor  and  distressed,  and  hide 
his  good  purposes  from  human  sight,  yet  in  the 
end  they  are  generally  crowned  with  happiness 
here,  and  no  one  can  doubt  of  their  being  so 
hereafter.  .  .  . 

No  sooner  was  Mrs.  Margery  settled  as  president 
of  the  A,  B,  C,  college  than  she  laid  every  possible 
scheme  to  promote  the  welfare  and  happiness  of 
all  her  neighbors,  and  especially  of  the  little  ones, 
in  whom  she  took  great  delight ;  and  all  those 
whose  parents  could  not  afford  to  pay  for  then* 
education,  she  taught  for  nothing  but  the  pleasure 
she  had  in  their  company;  for  you  are  to  observe 
that  they  were  very  good,  or  were  soon  made  so 
by  her  good  management. 

The  school  where  she  taught  was  that  which 
was  before  kept  by  Mrs.  Williams.  The  room  was 
large,  and  as  she  knew  that  nature  intended  chil- 
dren should  be  always  in  action,  she  placed  her 
different  letters,  or  alphabets,  all  round  the  school, 


150         HISTORY  OF  LITTLE   GOODY  TWOSHOES. 

so  that  every  one  was  obliged  to  get  up  to  fetch 
a  letter,  or  to  spell  a  word  when  it  came  to 
his  turn ;  which  not  only  kept  them  in  health, 
but  fixed  the  letters  and  points  firmly  in  their 
minds. 

She  had  the  following  assistants  or  ushers  to 
help  her,  and  I  will  tell  you  how  she  came  by 
them. 

Mrs.  Margery,  you  must  know,  was  very  humane 
and  compassionate ;  and  her  tenderness  extended 
not  only  to  all  mankind,  but  even  to  all  animals  that 
were  not  noxious;  as  yours  ought  to  do,  if  you 
would  be  happy  here,  and  go  to  heaven  hereafter. 
These  are  God  Almighty's  creatures  as  well  as  we. 
He  made  both  them  and  us;  and  for  wise  pur- 
poses, best  known  to  himself,  placed  them  in  this 
world  to  live  among  us,  so  that  they  are  our  fel- 
low tenants  of  the  globe.  How,  then,  can  people 
dare  to  torture  and  wantonly  destroy  God  Al- 
mighty's creatures  ?  They,  as  well  as  you,  are 
capable  of  feeling  pain,  and  of  receiving  pleasure ; 
and  how  can  you,  who  want  to  be  made  happy 
yourself,  delight  in  making  your  fellow  creature3 
miserable  ? 

Do  you  think  the  poor  birds,  whose  nest  and 
young  ones  that  wicked  boy,  Dick  Wilson,  ran 


THE  HEABT  OF  OAK  BOOKS.       '  151 

away  with  yesterday,  do  not  feel  as  much  pain 
as  your  father  and  mother  would  have  felt,  had 
any  one  pulled  down  their  house  and  run  away 
with  you  ?  To  be  sure  they  do. 

Mrs.  Twoshoes  used  to  speak  of  those  things, 
and  of  naughty  boys  throwing  at  cocks,  torturing 
flies,  and  whipping  horses  and  dogs,  with  tears  in 
her  eyes,  and  would  never  suffer  any  one  to  come 
to  her  school  who  did  so. 

One  day,  as  she  was  going  through  the  next 
village,  she  met  with  some  wicked  boys,  who  had 
got  a  young  raven,  which  they  were  going  to  throw 
at ;  she  wanted  to  get  the  poor  creature  out  of  their 
cruel  hands,  and  therefore  gave  them  a  penny  for 
him,  and  brought  him  home.  She  called  his  name 
Ralph,  and  a  fine  bird  he  was. 

Now  this  bird  she  taught  to  speak,  to  spell,  and 
to  read ;  and,  as  he  was  particularly  fond  of  play- 
ing with  the  large  letters,  the  children  used  to  call 
this  Ralph's  alphabet :  — 

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRS 
T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z. 

He  always  sat  at  her  elbow,  and  when  any  of 
the  children  were  wrong,  she  used  to  call  out,  "  Put 
them  right,  Ralph." 


152         HISTORY  OF  LITTLE   GOODY   TWOSHOES. 

Some  days  after  she  had  met  with  the  raven,  as 
she  was  walking  in  the  fields,  she  saw  some  naughty 
boys  who  had  taken  a  pigeon  and  tied  a  string  to 
its  leg,  in  order  to  let  it  fly,  and  draw  it  back  again 
when  they  pleased ;  and  by  this  means  they  tor- 
tured the.  poor  animal  with  the  hopes  of  liberty 
and  repeated  disappointment. 

This  pigeon  she  also  bought,  and  taught  him  how 
to  spell  and  read,  though  not  to  talk.  He  was  a 
very  pretty  fellow,  and  she  called  him  Tom. 

And  as  the  raven,  Ralph,  was  fond  of  the  large 
letters,  Torn,  the  pigeon,  took  care  of  the  small  ones, 
of  which  he  composed  this  alphabet :  — 

abcdefghij   klmnopqrstuvw 

x  y  z. 

The  neighbors,  knowing  that  Mrs.  Twoshoes  was 
very  good,  as  to  be  sure  nobody  was  better,  made 
her  a  present  of  a  little  skylark,  and  a  fine  bird  he 
was. 

Now  as  many  people,  even  at  that  time,  had 
learned  to  lie  in  bed  long  in  the  morning,  she 
thought  the  lark  might  be  of  use  to  her  and  her 
pupils,  and  tell  them  when  to  get  up. 

Some  time  after  this,  a  poor  lamb  had  lost  its 
dam,  and  the  farmer  being  about  to  kill  it,  she 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  153 

• 

bought  it  of  him,  and  brought  it  home  with  her  to 
play  with  the  children,  and  teach  them  when  to  go 
to  bed,  for  it  was  a  rule  with  the  wise  men  of  that 
age  (and  a  very  good  one,  let  me  tell  you)  to 

Rise  with  the  lark  and  lie  down  ivith  the  lamb. 

This  lamb  she  called  Will,  and  a  pretty  fellow  he 
was.  No  sooner  were  Tippy  the  lark,  and  Will, 
the  ba-lamb,  brought  into  the  school,  than  that 
sensible  rogue,  Ralph,  the  raven,  composed  the  fol- 
lowing verses,  which  every  little  good  boy  and  girl 
should  get  by  heart :  — 

Early  to  bed,  and  early  to  rise, 

Is  the  way  to  be  healthy,  and  wealthy,  and  ivise. 

A  sly  rogue,  but  it  is  true  enough ;  for  those  who 
do  not  go  to  bed  early,  cannot  rise  early ;  and  those 
who  do  not  rise  early,  cannot  do  much  business. 

Soon  after  this,  a  present  was  made  to  Mrs.  Mar- 
gery of  a  little  dog,  Jumper,  and  a  pretty  dog  he 
was.  Jumper,  Jumper,  Jumper !  He  was  always 
in  good  humor,  and  playing  and  jumping  about, 
and  therefore  he  was  called  Jumper. 

The  place  assigned  for  Jumper  was  that  of  keep- 
ing the  door,  so  that  he  may  be  called  the  porter 


154         HISTORY  OF  LITTLE  GOODY  TWO  SHOES. 

• 

of  the  college,  for  he  would  let  nobody  go  out,  or 
any  one  come  in,  without  the  leave  of  his  mistress. 

Billy,  the  ba-lamb,  was  a  cheerful  fellow,  and 
all  the  children  were  fond  of  him ;  wherefore  Mrs. 
Twoshoes  made  it  a  rule,  that  those  who  behaved 
best  should  have '  Will  to  go  home  with  them  at 
night  to  carry  their  satchels,  or  baskets,  at  his 
back,  and  bring  them  in  the  morning.  .  .  . 

But  one  day  a  dreadful  accident  happened  in  the 
school.  It  was  on  a  Thursday  morning,  I  very 
well  remember,  when  the  children  having  learned 
their  lessons  soon,  she  had  given  them  leave  to 
play,  and  they  were  all  running  about  the  school, 
and  diverting  themselves  with  the  birds  and  the 
lamb ;  at  this  time  the  dog,  all  of  a  sudden,  laid 
hold  of  his  mistress's  apron,  and  endeavored  to  pull 
her  out  of  the  school.  She  was  at  first  surprised; 
however,  she  followed  him  to  see  what  he  intended. 

No  sooner  had  he  led  her  into  the  garden,  than 
he  ran  back  and  pulled  out  one  of  the  children  in 
the  same  manner;  upon  which,  she  ordered  them 
all  to  leave  the  school  immediately;  and  they  had 
not  been  out  five  minutes  before  the  top  of  the 
house  fell  in. 

What  a  miraculous  deliverance  was  here!  How 
gracious!  How  good  was  God  Almighty,  to  save 


THE  HEAKT   OF   OAK  BOOKS.  155 

all  these  children  from  destruction,  and  to  make 
use  of  such  an  instrument  as  a  little  sagacious 
animal  to  accomplish  his  divine  will ! 

I  should  have  observed  that  as  soon  as  they  were 
p.ll  in  the  garden,  the  dog  came  leaping  round  them 
to  express  his  joy,  and  when  the  house  had  fallen, 
laid  himself  down  quietly  by  his  mistress. 

Some  of  the  neighbors,  who  saw  the  school  fall, 
and  who  were  in  great  pain  for  Margery  and  the 
little  ones,  soon  spread  the  news  through  the  vil- 
lage, and  all  the  parents,  terrified  for  their  children, 
came  crowding  in  abundance ;  they  had,  however, 
the  satisfaction  to  find  them  all  safe,  and  upon  their 
knees,  with  their  mistress,  giving  God  thanks  for 
their  happy  deliverance. 

You  are  not  to  wonder,  my  dear  reader,  that 
this  little  dog  should  have  more  sense  than  you, 
or  your  father,  or  your  grandfather. 

Though  God  Almighty  has  made  man  the  lord 
of  creation,  and  endowed  him  with  reason,  yet  in 
many  respects,  He  has  been  altogether  as  bountiful 
to  other  creatures  of  His  forming.  Some  of  the 
senses  of  other  animals  are  more  acute  than  ours, 
as  we  find  by  daily  experience.  .  .  . 

And  as  they  are  so  sensible  and  kind  to  us,  we 
ought  to  be  tender  and  good  to  them,  and  not 


156         HISTORY  OF  LITTLE   GOODY  TWO  SHOES. 

beat  them  about  and  kill  them.  Do  not  the  horse 
and  the  ass  carry  you  and  your  burdens  ?  Does 
not  the  ox  plough  your  ground,  the  cow  give  you 
milk,  the  sheep  clothe  your  back,  the  dog  watch 
your  house,  the  hen  bring  eggs  for  your  custards 
and  puddings,  and  the  cock  call  you  up  in  the  morn- 
ing, when  you  are  lazy  and  like  to  hurt  yourselves 
by  lying  too  long  in  bed  ?  If  so,  how  can  you  be 
cruel  to  them  ?  God  will  bless  you,  but  not  unless 
you  are  merciful  and  good. 

The  downfall  of  the  school  was  a  great  misfor- 
tune to  Mrs.  Margery ;  for  she  not  only  lost  all 
her  books,  but  was  destitute  of  a  place  to  teach  in. 
But  Sir  William  Dove,  being  informed  of  this, 
ordered  the  house  to  be  built  at  his  own  expense, 
and  till  that  could  be  done,  Farmer  Grove  was  so 
kind  as  to  let  her  have  his  large  hall  to  teach  in. 

While  at  Mr.  Grove's,  which  was  in  the  heart 
of  the  village,  she  not  only  taught  the  children  in 
the  daytime,  but  the  farmer's  servants,  and  all  the 
neighbors,  to  read  and  write  in  the  evening.  This 
gave  not  only  Mr.  Grove,  but  all  the  neighbors,  a 
high  opinion  of  her  good  sense  and  prudent  behav- 
ior ;  and  she  was  so  much  esteemed,  that  most  of 
the  differences  in  the  parish  were  left  to  her  deci- 
sion. .  . 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.         157 

One  gentleman,  in  particular,  I  mean  Sir  Charles 
Jones,  had  conceived  such  a  high  opinion  of  her 
that  he  offered  her  a  considerable  sum  to  take  care 
of  his  family,  and  the  education  of  his  daughter, 
which,  however,  she  refused;  but  this  gentleman, 
sending  for  her  afterwards  when  he  had  a  danger- 
ous fit  of  illness,  she  went,  and  behaved  so  prudently 
in  the  family,  and  so  tenderly  to  him  and  his  daugh- 
ter, that  he  would  not  permit  her  to  leave  his  house, 
but  soon  after  made  her  proposals  of  marriage. 

She  was  truly  sensible  of  the  honor  he  intended 
her,  but,  though  poor,  she  would  not  consent  to  be 
made  a  lady,  until  he  had  effectually  provided  for 
his  daughter ;  for  she  told  him,  that  power  was  a 
dangerous  thing  to  be  trusted  with,  and  that  a  good 
man  or  woman  would  never  throw  themselves  into 
the  road  of  temptation. 

All  things  being  settled,  and  the  day  fixed,  the 
neighbors  came  in  crowds  to  see  the  wedding;  for 
they  were  all  glad  that  one  who  had  been  such  a 
good  little  girl,  and  was  become  such  a  virtuous 
and  good  woman,  was  going  to  be  made  a  lady. 
But,  just  as  the  clergyman  had  opened  his  book,  a 
gentleman  richly  dressed,  ran  into  the  church,  and 
cried :  — 

"Stop!  stop!" 


158         HISTORY  OF  LITTLE  GOODY  TWOSHOE8. 

This  greatly  alarmed  the  congregation,  particu- 
larly the  intended  bride  and  bridegroom,  whom  he 
first  accosted,  and  desired  to  speak  with  them 
apart.  After  they  had  been  talking  some  little 
time,  the  people  were  greatly  surprised  to  see  Sir 
Charles  stand  motionless,  and  his  bride  cry,  and 
faint  away  in  the  stranger's  arms. 

This  seeming  grief,  however,  was  only  a  prelude 
to  a  flood  of  joy  which  immediately  succeeded ;  for 
you  must  know,  gentle  reader,  that  this  gentleman 
so  richly  dressed  and  bedizened  with  lace,  was  that 
identical  little  boy,  whom  you  before  saw  in  the 
sailor's  habit ;  in  short,  it  was  little  Tom  Twoshoes, 
Mrs.  Margery's  brother,  who  had  just  come  from 
beyond  sea,  where  he  had  made  a  large  fortune ; 
and  hearing,  as  soon  as  he  landed,  of  his  sister's 
intended  wedding,  he  had  ridden  in  haste,  to  see 
that  a  proper  settlement  was  made  on  her ;  which 
he  thought  she  was  now  entitled  to,  as  he  himself 
was  both  able  and  willing  to  give  her  an  ample 
fortune.  They  soon  returned  to  their  places  and 
were  married  in  tears,  but  they  were  tears  of  joy. 

The  harmony  and  affection  that  lay  between  this 
happy  couple  cannot  be  told.  Mrs.  Margery  still 
went  on  with  her  good  works.  She  paid  great 
regard  to  the  poor  and  'made  their  interest  her 


THE  HEART  OF  OAK  BOOKS.          159 

own ;  in  short,  she  was  a  mother  to  the  poor,  a 
physician  to  the  sick,  and  a  friend  to  all  who  were 
in  distress. 

Her  life  was  the  greatest  blessing,  and  her  death 
the  greatest  calamity,  that  ever  was  felt  in  the 
neighborhood. 


THE    WAY   TO   BE   HAPPY. 

By  Jane  and  Ann  Taylor. 

How  pleasant  it  is  at  the  end  of  the  day, 
No  follies  to  have  to  repent ; 
But  reflect  on  the  past  and  be  able  to  say, 
That  my  time  has  been  properly  spent. 

When  I've  done  all  my  bus'ness  with  patience  and  care, 
And  been  good  and  obliging  and  kind, 
I  lay  on  my  pillow  and  sleep  away  care, 
With  a  happy  and  peaceable  mind. 

But  instead  of  all  this,  if  it  must  be  confest, 
That  I  careless  and  idle  have  been, 
I  lay  down  as  usual  and  go  to  my  rest, 
But  feel  discontented  within. 

Then  as  I  don't  like  all  the  trouble  I've  had, 
In  future  I'll  try  to  prevent  it, 
For  I  never  am  naughty  without  being  sad, 
Or  good  —  without  being  contented. 


160     THE  HISTORY  OF  LITTLE   GOODY  TWO   SHOES. 


THE  STORY  OF  GOODY  Two  SHOES. 
TOLD  IN  PICTURES. 


THE  HE  AST  OF  OAK  BOOKS.  161 


THE  STOUY  OF  GOODY  Two  SHOES. 
TOLD  IN  PICTURES. 


NOTES. 


PAGE  1.  —  "The  Three  Bears"  was  written  by  Robert  Southey  and 
was  printed  in  "The  Doctor,"  vol.  iv.,  London,  1837.  It  is  probably  a 
reduction  to  writing  of  a  current  folk-tale,  but  Mr.  Joseph  Jacobs  has 
been  able  to  furnish  no  parallels.  The  incident  of  sitting  in  the  three 
chairs,  etc.,  is  in  Grimm's  "  Sneewitchen."  The  girl  with  the  golden 
hair  is  a  naughty  old  woman  in  the  original,  and  was  introduced  in  a 
metrical  version  by  G.  W.,  which  Southey  much  commended.  Professor 
Dowden  says  that  Southey's  memory  is  kept  alive  more  by  "  The  Three 
Bears  "  than  by  anything  else  he  wrote.  The  traditional  American  version 
here  given  differs  slightly  from  Southey's. 

PAGE  6.  —  "Little  lamb,  who  made  thee?"  is  from  "The  Lamb," 
which  appeared  in  Songs  of  Innocence,  the  author  and  printer  W.  Blake, 
1789. 

PAGE  9. — The  full  title  is  "Dame  Wiggins  of  Lee,  and  her  Seven 
Wonderful  Cats :  A  humorous  tale  written  principally  by  a  lady  of  ninety 
[Mrs.  Sharpe].  Edited  with  additional  verses,  by  John  Ruskin,  LL.D., 
Honorary  Student  of  Christ  Church,  and  Honorary  Fellow  of  Corpus 
Christi  College,  Oxford.  And  with  new  illustrations  by  Kate  Greenaway. 
With  twenty-two  woodcuts.  George  Allen,  Sunnyside,  Orpington,  Kent, 
1885."  The  third,  fourth,  eighth,  and  ninth  stanzas  are  by  Mr.  Ruskin. 
"  But  my  rhymes  do  not  ring  like  the  real  ones,"  he  writes  in  the  preface  ; 
and  in  "Fors  Clavigera"  (vol.  v,  pp.  37-8)  :  "I  aver  these  rhymes  to 
possess  the  primary  virtue  of  rhyme,  —  that  is,  to  be  rhythmical,  in  a 
pleasant  and  exemplary  degree." 

-PAGES  16,  53,  82,  96,  111.  — "  Cinderella,"  "Diamonds  and 
Toads,"  "Little  Red  Riding  Hood,"  "Puss  in  Boots,"  and  "Sleep- 
ing Beauty  "  are  first  found  in  print  in  French  in  a  magazine  entitled, 
Recueil  de  pieces  curieuses  et  nouvelles  tant  en  prose  qu'en  vers,  which 
was  published  by  Adrian  Moetjens  at  the  Hague  in  169(i-7. 

Among  the  many  translations  the  purest  and  simplest  English  has 
been  found  in  a  little  book  containing  both  the  English  and  French,  and 


NOTES.  163 

entitled,  "Tales  of  Passed  Times,  by  Mother  Goose.  With  Morals. 
Written  in  French  by  M.  [Charles]  Perrault,  aud  Englished  by  R.  S.  Gent. 
To  which  is  added  a  new  one,  viz.  The  Discreet  Princess.  The  Seventh 
Edition,  Corrected  and  Adorned  with  fine  Cuts.  New  York :  Printed  for 
J.  Rivington,  Bookseller  and  Stationer,  No.  56  Pearl  Street,  1795." 

Who  R.  S.  was  and  where  he  made  his  translation  we  can  only  con- 
jecture. 

The  germs  of  these  stories  are  to  be  found  in  the  oldest  literatures ; 
they  are  among  the  oldesv  folk-tales  in  the  world. 

They  were  orally  current  in  France  and  the  neighboring  countries  long 
before  Perrault  wrote  them  down,  and  an  interesting  account  of  the  vari- 
ous forms  in  which  they  are  found  in  the  literature  and  folk-lore  of  other 
nations  before  Perrault's  time  is  given  in  Les  Contes  de  ma  mere  L'oye 
avant  Perrault,  by  Charles  Deulin,  Paris,  E.  Dentu,  1878. 

In  this  book  Mr.  Deulin  inclines  to  the  view  that  the  stories  as  first 
published  by  Perrault  were  not  really  written  by  him,  but  by  his  little 
son  of  ten  or  eleven  to  whom  Perrault  told  the  stories  as  he  had  gathered 
them  up  with  the  intention  of  rendering  them  in  verse  after  the  manner 
of  La  Fontaine.  The  lad  had  an  excellent  memory,  much  natural  wit, 
and  a  great  gift  of  expression.  He  loved  the  stories  his  father  told  him, 
and  thoroughly  enjoyed  the  task  his  father  set  him,  of  re-writing  them 
from  memory,  as  an  exercise.  This  was  so  happily  done,  in  such  a  fresh, 
artless  and  engaging  style  exactly  befitting  the  subjects  of  the  stories, 
that  the  father  deemed  the  son's  version  better  than  any  which  he 
could  make,  and  published  it  under  his  own  name. 

The  translation  made  its  way  slowly  in  England  at  first,  but  in  the 
end  the  stories  nearly  eclipsed  the  native  fairy  tales  and  legends  of  that 
land, — which  owing  to  Puritan  influence  had  been  frowned  upon  and 
discouraged  until  they  were  hardly  remembered  except  in  the  remoter 
districts.  Indeed,  the  Puritanical  objection  to  all  nursery  lore  still 
lingers  in  some  corners  of  England.  Emerson  says,  "  What  Nature  at 
one  time  provides  for  use,  she  afterwards  turns  to  ornament,"  and 
Herbert  Spencer,  developing  this  idea,  remarks  that  "  the  fairy  lore 
which  in  times  past  was  matter  of  grave  belief,  and  held  sway  over  peo- 
ple's conduct  has  since  been  transformed  into  «rnament  for  'The  Mid- 
summer Night's  Dream,'  '  The  Tempest,' '  The  Fairy  Queen,'  and  endless 
small  tales  and  poems ;  and  still  affords  subjects  for  children's  story 
books  .  .  .  amuses  boys  and  girls,  .  .  .  and  becomes  matter  for  jocose 
allusion."  Thus,  also,  Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  a  note  to  "The  Lady  of  the 
Lake":  "The  mythology  of  one  period  would  appear  to  pass  into  the 
romance  of  the  next,  and  that  into  the  nursery  tales  of  subsequent  ages ; " 
and  Max  Muller,  in  his  "  Chips  from  a  German  Bookshop,"  says,  "  The 


164  NOTES. 

gods  of  ancient  mythology  were  changed  into  the  demigods  and  heroes  of 
ancient  epic  poetry,  and  these  demigods  again  became  at  a  later  age  the 
principal  characters  of  our  nursery  tales."  These  thoughts  may  help  to  a 
better  understanding  of  some  of  the  uses  of  such  stories,  and  of  their 
proper  place  in  children's  reading. 

PAGE  24.  — "  The  Wind  "  is  taken  (with  slight  changes)  from  the 
poem  of  the  same  name  in  "A  Child's  Garden  of  Verses,"  by  Robert 
Louis  Stevenson,  New  York,  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  1892. 

PAGE  25.  —  "  The  City  Mouse  "  and  the  other  poems  in  this  volume  by 
Miss  Rossetti  are  taken  from  "  Sing-Song,  a  Nursery  Rhyme  Book,"  1871. 

PAGE  34.  —  "  Tom  Thumb  "  is  an  English  variant  of  "  Little  Thumb," 
"Petit  Poucet"  in  Perrault's  collection  (vide  ante),  though  the  details  of 
both  differ  very  widely.  The  germ  of  this  story  occurs  in  various  forms 
in  the  oldest  books  of  the  Far  East,  —  whence  comes  more  than  a  third  of 
our  Fairy  Tales,  Rhymes,  and  Jingles,  including  even  the  original  of  "  The 
Tar  Baby," — and  is  found  also  among  the  oral  legends  of  the  American 
Indians,  and  of  the  Zulus  of  Africa,  as  well  as  in  the  older  literature  of 
every  country  of  Europe,  North,  East,  South,  and  West. 

"Tom  Thumb"  is  a  very  old  character  i  English  nursery  literature, 
and  has  become  less  confused  with  foreign  versions  than  almost  any 
other.  In  1611  the  ancient  tales  of  "Tom  Thumb"  were  said  to  have 
been  "in  the  olde  time  the  only  revivers  of  drouzy  age  at  midnight:  old 
and  young  have  with  his  tales  chim'd  mattens  till  the  cocks  crow  in  the 
morning :  Batchelors  and  Maides  with  his  tales  have  compassed  the 
Christmas  fire-blocke  till  the  Curfew-bell  rings,  Candle  out :  the  old 
Shepheard  and  the  young  Plow  boy  after  their  days'  labour  have  carol'd 
out  a  Tale  of  Tom  Thumbe  to  make  them  merry  with :  and  who  but  little 
Tom  hath  made  long  nights  seem  short  and  heavy  toyles  easie  ?  " 

PAGE  51. —This  poem  by  Coleridge  is  sometimes  called  "Answer  to 
a  Child's  Question."  It  was  first  printed  in  the  Morning  Post,  Oct.  16, 
1802,  with  the  heading,  —  "  The  Language  of  Birds:  Lines  spoken  ea> 
tempore  to  a  little  child  in  early  spring." 

PAGE  62.  —  "Jack  and  the  Beanstalk"  is  as  ancient  and  widespread 
as  "  Tom  Thumb,"  and  our  version  of  the  story  is  the  English  one  which 
has  been  the  longest  current  and  is  the  least  corrupted  with  incidents 
from  its  variants  in  other  countries. 

PAGE  122.  — The  text  of  "  Whittington  and  his  Cat"  is  based  upon  a 
careful  collation  of  three  of  the  oldest  versions,  found  in  the  Boswell 
collection  of  chap-books  in  the  Harvard  College  Library. 


NOTES.  165 

It  is  astonishing  how  complete  a  picture  of  the  life  and  times  of  a 
character  that  has  become  a  hero  of  popular  legend,  can  be  constructed 
from  the  abundant  records  preserved  by  the  pious  care  of  the  citizens  of 
London  for  more  than  five  hundred  years.  For  Sir  llichard  Whittington 
was  a  real  character.  He  served  as  Lord  Mayor  of  London  in  part  of  the 
year  1396,  in  1397,  in  1406,  and  in  1419.  He  was  one  of  London's  mer- 
chant princes  :  a  wise,  generous,  and  just  man.  He  left  rich  endowments 
for  learning  and  for  city  improvements  ;  he  founded  a  college  and  built  a 
library  for  the  city ;  he  restored  St.  Bartholomew's  Hospital ;  he  im- 
proved the  prisons,  which  were  pest  houses  in  his  day  ;  and  enforced 
simple  sanitary  legislation.  The  story  of  his  life,  with  a  picturesque  and 
vivid  description  of  the  conditions  of  life,  the  manners  and  customs  of  the 
fourteenth  century  in  London,  is  told  by  Sir  Walter  Besant  and  James 
Rice  in  a  volume  entitled  "Sir  Richard  Whittington,"  London,  Marcus 
Ward  &  Co.,  1881.  While  this  little  book  throws  much  interesting  light 
on  the  question  of  what  is  fact  and  what  is  fiction  in  the  story,  it  is  still 
difficult  to  say  how  much  of  the  cat  story  is  true.  The  same  tale  is  told 
in  a  dozen  different  ways,  and  of  a  dozen  different  people,  and  they  all 
refer  to  about  the  same  period. 

This,  however,  is  clear :  that  his  executors  associated  Whittington's 
memory  with  a  cat,  and  that  many  of  the  records  concerning  him  have 
connected  him  with  a  cat.  It  is  also  clear,  from  contemporary  history, 
that  tame  cats  were  much  scarcer  then  than  now,  and  that  in  many  dis- 
tant countries  they  were  unknown.  There  is  also  plenty  of  evidence  that 
they  were  about  this  period  valuable  articles  of  merchandise  ;  and  there 
is  little  doubt  that  in  some  way  or  other  Whittington  did  make  a  fortunate 
venture  with  a  cat,  and  thus  laid  the  foundation  of  his  riches  ;  and  of  this 
oft  repeated  legend. 

PAGE  138.  —  "  Goody  Two  Shoes"  was  published  in  April,  1765,  and 
few  nursery  books  have  had  a  wider  circulation,  or  have  retained  their 
position  so  long.  The  number  of  editions  that  have  been  published  both 
in  England  and  America  is  legion.  Even  in  1802,  Charles  Lamb,  in  writ- 
ing to  Coleridge,  said  :  "' Goody  Two  Shoes '  is  almost  out  of  print.  Mrs. 
Barbauld's  stuff  has  banished  all  the  old  classics  of  the  nursery,  and  the 
shopman  at  Newbery's  hardly  deigned  to  reach  them  off  an  old  exploded 
corner  of  a  shelf,  when  Mary  asked  for  them.  Mrs.  Barbauld's  and  Mrs. 
Trimmer's  nonsense  lay  in  piles  about." 

The  authorship  of  this  famous  little  story  has  been  attributed  to  Gold- 
smith by  many  authorities,  conspicuous  among  whom  are  Washington 
Irving  and  William  Godwin.  The  Misses  Bewick,  daughters  of  the  cele- 
brated engraver,  who  illustrated  an  edition  of  the  book  for  T.  Saint,  of 


166  NOTES. 

Newcastle,  understood  from  their  father  that  it  was  by  Oliver  Goldsmith. 
A  group  of  six-penny  books  for  children,  ingeniously  and  quaintly  named, 
published  by  John  Newbery  in  1765,  is  characterized  by  a  distinct  lit- 
erary flavor;  and  one  of  the  number^  "The  Lilliputian  Magazine,"  is 
attributed  in  the  British  Museum  Catalogue  to  Oliver  Goldsmith.  So 
strong  it?  the  family  likeness  in  all  the  books,  that  it  is  believed  that  they 
are  all  by  the  same  hand.  The  title  of  "Goody  Two  Shoes,"  with  its 
quaint  phrasing,  shows  no  common  genius,  and,  as  Washington  Irving 
says,  "  bears  the  stamp  of  his  [Goldsmith's]  sly  and  playful  humor." 
Since  the  book  was  published  in  1765,  it  is  most  likely  to  have  been  writ- 
ten just  at  the  time  when  Goldsmith  was  working  most  industriously  in 
the  service  of  Newbery  (1763-4),  at  which  period  he  was  living  near  New- 
bery at  Islington,  and  his  publisher  was  paying  for  his  board  and  lodging. 
The  text  of  the  extracts  here  published  is  from  a  photographic  fac- 
simile of  the  earliest  complete  copy,  edited  by  Charles  Welsh  (Griffith 
and  Farran,  Successors  to  Newbery  and  Harris,  West  Corner  of  St.  Paul's 
Churchyard,  London,  1880).  The  quaint  title  reads  as  follows,  —  "THE 
HISTORY  of  Little  GOODY  TWO-SHOES  ;  Otherwise  called,  Mrs.  MARGERY 
TWO-SHOES.  WITH  The  Means  by  which  she  acquired  her  Learning  and 
Wisdom,  and  in  consequence  thereof  her  Estate  ;  set  forth  at  large  for  the 
Benefit  of  those, 

Who  from  a  State  of  Hags  and  Care, 

And  having  Shoes  but  half  a  Pair; 

Their  Fortune  and  their  Fame  would  fix, 

And  gallop  in  a  Coach  and  Six. 

See  the  Original  Manuscript  in  the  Vatican  at  Rome,  and  the  Cuts  by 
Michael  Angela.  Illustrated  with  the  Comments  of  our  great  modern 
Critics.  The  THIRD  EDITION.  LONDON :  Printed  for  J.  Newbery,  at 
the  Bible  and  Sun  in  St.  PauV s-Church-Yard,  1766.  [Price  Six-pence.]" 

The  dedication  is,  "To  ALL  Young  Gentlemen  and  Ladies  Who  are 
good,  or  intend  to  be  good.  This  BOOK  Is  inscribed  by  their  old  Friend 
In  St.  Paul's  Church-yard."  With  slight  changes,  the  book  was  reprinted 
in  America  under  the  same  title  :  "  The  First  Worcester  Edition.  Printed 
at  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  by  Isaiah  Thomas,  And  sold  Wholesale  and 
Retail,  at  his  Book  Store.  MDCCLXXXVII." 

Mr.  Welsh's  later  researches  into  the  history  of  the  book  have  led  him 
to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  planned  by  John  Newbery  and  written  by 
Goldsmith. 


INDEX   OF  WRITERS. 


WITH    DATE    OF    BIRTH    AND    DEATH. 


/Esop's  FABLES.  PAGB 

The  Wolf  and  the  Lamb 8 

The  Sun  and  the  North  Wind 24 

The  Field  Mouse  and  the  Town  Mouse 26 

Hercules  and  the  Wagoner 29 

The  Fox  and  the  Crow 33 

Union  gives  Strength .34 

The  Lark  and  her  Young  Ones 49 

ANONYMOUS. 

Three  Children  Sliding  on  the  Ice 27 

The  Bells  of  London 27 

The  History  of  Tom  Thumb 34 

Remedy  for  Evil 50 

One  Swallow  does  not  make  a  Summer 62 

Come  my  children 52 

Jack  and  the  Beanstalk 62 

Humility 93 

O  that  I  was  where  I  would  be 119 

Whittington  and  his  Cat      .        . 122 

BLAKE,  WILLIAM  (1757-1827). 

The  Lamb 6 

COLERIDGE,  SAMUEL  TAVLOU  (1772-1834). 

The  Language  of  Birds 51 

FITZOKRALD,  EDWARD  (1809-1883). 

A  Little  Help 119 

GOLDSMITH,  OLIVER  (1728-1774). 

Goody  Two-Shoes        .                 138 

167 


168  INDEX  OF  WRITERS. 

HOVVITT,  MART  (1799-1888).  PAC» 

The  Spider  and  the  Fly 68 

LAMB,  MART  (1765-1847). 

Choosing  a  Name 110 

PERRAULT,  CHARLES  (1628-1703). 

Little  Red  Riding  Hood 16 

Diamonds  and  Toads 53 

Cinderella 82 

The  Sleeping  Beauty  in  the  Wood      ..*....  96 

Puss  in  Boots Ill 

ROSSETTI,  CHRISTINA  GEORGINA  (1830-1894). 

Who  has  seen  the  Wind  ? 21 

The  City  Mouse  and  the  Garden  Mouse 25 

The  Swallow 51 

An  Emerald  is  as  Green  as  Grass 63 

SHARPE,  MRS. 

Dame  Wiggins  of  Lee 9 

SOUTHET,  ROBERT  (1774-1843). 

The  Three  Bears 1 

STEVENSON,  ROBERT  Louis  (1850-1894). 

The  Wind 24 

SWIFT,  JONATHAN  (1667-1745). 

On  the  Vowels 96 

TAYLOR,  JANE  AND  ANN  (1783-1824). 

The  Violet 107 

The  Way  to  be  Happy 159 

WADSWORTH,  OLIVE  A. 

Over  in  the  Meadow    .....••••80 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


A     001  116  123     9 


